


Game of Lies

by Fanatika



Category: BioShock 1 & 2 (Video Games)
Genre: Atlas is Frank Fontaine, BioShock Infinite: Burial at Sea, Canon Divergence, M/M, Porn With Plot, Would You Kindly (BioShock)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-22
Updated: 2020-07-17
Packaged: 2021-02-28 17:40:49
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 17
Words: 52,057
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23261119
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fanatika/pseuds/Fanatika
Summary: After Jack killed Andrew Ryan and found out about Atlas's little secret, he wasn't rescued by the little sisters and never made it to Tenenbaum's hideout. Instead he was captured by Frank Fontaine. However, unconscious Jack does not remember any of this and when he wakes up, he is greeted by a familiar face: his only friend in Rapture: Atlas.
Relationships: Atlas/Jack (BioShock), Frank Fontaine/Jack
Comments: 71
Kudos: 140





	1. Memory

**Author's Note:**

> Hi guys, 
> 
> I'm here to keep the Bioshock fandom alive! Yeah. Good news first: There will be regular updates =) I hope you guys will enjoy this little story. For me it was a lot of fun to write and I want to thank my friend Selina who not only pushed me by giving me positive feedback but also being critical with me! I hope you'll enjoy it as much as she did ;-)

Everything was dark around him. He didn't know where he was. Was this even real or was this a dream? He couldn't tell. All he knew was that he was alone, surrounded by darkness which felt unnaturally thick on his skin as if it was trying to crush him. He fought against it with all his willpower by remembering what had happened as if the knowledge itself would free him from his dark prison.

His name was Jack. He had been on a plane. The plane had crashed into the ocean. A Lighthouse – Rapture. He had found this huge city buried under the sea, built by a man to flee the world of parasites as he had called it. What was his name again? It was on the tip of his tongue.

Andrew Ryan.

As he remembered the name of the founder of Rapture, he felt a surge of anger rising inside of him, but he just couldn't remember all the details and therefore he did not know where this anger came from. However, the darkness that kept his body in a tight squeeze seemed to have loosened its grip. He had to progress further into his memories. He needed to get a clear picture to escape this state. What had happened in Rapture?

Andrew Ryan was still dominating his memories, but Jack knew somehow that there had been someone else. Someone like Ryan's enemy he assumed. Or did he know? It was extremely hard to focus, and he couldn't catch the thought which was escaping from him.

There had been someone talking to him the whole time -guiding him, helping him on his way through the scary underwater city. A man - a man with an Irish accent. He remembered his voice. It was friendly, but also determined. He had helped him from the beginning and had asked him to help him in return. Jack tried his best not to lose this thread of memory diving even deeper into it.

Moira – Patrick, two names he had heard before but couldn't tell exactly where they belonged to. Did they have something to do with this man on the radio?

Atlas.

Suddenly he remembered. Atlas, the man with the Irish accent. The man who had asked him to help him find his family and escaping Rapture with them. The man who eventually couldn't rescue his family. The family who had been blown up by Andrew Ryan.

His anger was back, but with it something else. He felt warmth inside thinking of Atlas. He was the only person in this hellhole who had been by his side all the time - practically welcoming him in Rapture and guiding him through it. Without him he would have been lost from the beginning. Even though he mostly spoke to him over the radio he had seen Atlas as a friend whom he trusted - a man he wanted to help. The only friendly soul he had come across in this pool of lunatics running around.

The moment when the submarine had exploded in front of Jack's eyes was one of the worst he had experienced on his journey. He felt guilt deep inside of him for letting his friend down. For not being able to rescue the only thing that had mattered to Atlas. He had sworn to himself that he would revenge his friend and kill Andrew Ryan, the man responsible for the death of two innocent people.

His body felt lighter. He realized the shadow's grip had loosened further, but he was still in a firm hold. He hadn't figured out the whole truth yet, but he was getting closer. 

_Stay focused_ , he told himself again, his inner voice trying to calm him. The more he dug into the adventure which he had endured, the more uneasy he started feeling inside. It was not only the darkness surrounding him that tried to hold him in place, now this uncomfortable tugging was added, and Jack had the bad feeling that he would come across a truth he didn't want to know.

Thus, he continued his journey through his memories. He needed to know what had happened after he had left Neptune's Bounty, where Atlas's family had met their horrible death.

Jack still remembered his guilt, but also anger. He knew that Atlas had been the one to stay comparatively calm given the circumstances. However, this had been also the first time Jack had heard him angry. And this anger was directed at Andrew Ryan. And so, when Atlas had asked to help him killing that man it had been his decision, Jack's own free will to do so.

He stopped in his thoughts. Why was it so important to him that he wanted this decision to be his own? Did it matter? Suddenly Atlas's voice echoed through the darkness:

“Would you kindly head to Ryan's office and kill that son of a bitch.”

The grip of the darkness around him got tighter again and the memories which had slowly started to return to him, seemed as if they were quickly fading away again as if his mind refused to remember anything beyond this point. He tried to scream to reach out for this little beacon of light in front of him which could only be the truth of what had happened. But the harder he tried the tighter the darkness grabbed him. It swallowed him completely until suddenly everything was just dark. The truth disappearing protected from him by a black veil.

*-----*

Brigit Tenenbaum sighed. How could this have happened? Just when she thought everything was becoming better, it got worse.

Since her first time in Rapture, or even since her time at prison camp in Germany her whole being had been questioned. She had questioned herself and she had become someone else. Someone better, so she believed. The fact that she was the one responsible for the mere existence of the little sisters haunted her all the time, however, now she fought for their freedom, well or at least for something that would make the little one’s lives better.

There had never been the ultimate plan to follow, but with Jack appearing on the scene and him being so kind to her girls, she had believed that something was changing, that something could be done, maybe even escaping this hellhole and start a new life topside.

However, there had still been some people in this so-called city, that caused a threat to this thought. First and foremost, there was Andrew Ryan of course. When it came to escaping Rapture he was the biggest threat, as he was the person who had decided that once you came to Rapture it was a lifetime choice, regardless of the fact that this city was going down the drain.

And there was Atlas. A man she hadn’t figured out until now. Why had nobody noticed before that there was something off about this man. Why hadn’t _she_ figured out what was going on? She had been working with Suchong and Fontaine for such a long time and she knew Fontaine, what he did and what he was capable of, and still she had not realized what ploy the man had planned right in front of her eyes.

It was her own fault, though. Since she had realized or recognized her motherly feelings or that she had indeed something like a conscience, she had ignored all the bad things happening around her, except from the fate of the little sisters. And so, she just remembered that she did not pay any attention to the fact that the death of Fontaine and the sudden appearance of Atlas happened almost simultaneously.

Now, it was too late to complain about her mistakes or what had gone wrong. It was a fact that the moment Atlas revealed himself as Fontaine was life changing not only for Jack. Her attempt to help him and to keep him save had failed and now she was being held here by Fontaine as well as his mind-controlled experiment of a kid. The situation couldn’t be worse.

She didn’t know about Jack’s whereabouts, but she was held captive in a small compartment. Of course, the only door was locked, and she was pretty sure that she had heard two splicers outside who were supposed to guard her. For now, there was no way out.

It was in that moment when she thought she would die because of boredom and her inability to do something about her situation when the door was opened and no other than Frank Fontaine himself entered. Before he paid any attention to her sitting on something which used to be a nice bed once, he made sure the door was closed and locked again.

“Good mornin’. I hope you had a pleasant stay so far.” He started talking in his new invented persona as Atlas. He acted as if nothing had happened like she was just on vacation to visit a good old friend.

“Drop it already. There is no need to keep up this façade like this. I know who you are.” Brigit replied, her voice sounding bitter.

“I don’t mind speaking like the person you used to know, Tenenbaum. Either way.”

It was as if the whole atmosphere in the room had changed. She hadn’t believed that his whole aura could differ so rapidly from one second to the other.

“Even looking like that, as soon as you stop acting like the nice understanding workingman with that all too good sounding Irish accent you are revealed. I must admit you are a tremendous actor and Dr. Steinman did a fantastic job on you, especially your face, but beneath all that you’re still the old Frank Fontaine.”

She really was impressed, there was no way denying it. This whole act he could keep up and then his looks. He really wasn’t the same man anymore, at least in a pure visual way.

“Thank you. Even though I’m so used to Atlas now, once in a while I enjoy being Frank again. But isn’t it tremendous how I could have fooled everyone, even Ryan himself?” He took one of the chairs and sat down on it.

“What do you want Frank? Where is he?” Brigit had no intention to play along. Yes, he was a clever man and yes what he did was extraordinary in his own cruel way, but she wouldn’t give him the credit for that.

“I miss the old Brigit Tenenbaum, before you remembered you have moral doubts about what you do. What happened to our little agreement?” He smirked at her.

Brigit shuddered. She knew exactly at what he was pointing and only thinking about it at the moment made her stomach turn upside down. How could she have ever given in to her sexual needs with this man? At the time it had seemed right, however, now she didn’t even want to think about it.

“I don’t need anything from you Frank and I will not work for you again. Is that why you keep me here, instead of getting rid of me?”

She looked him straight in the eye, trying to get behind this new face of his. It was still weird to look at this man and thinking of Frank Fontaine. He was still hiding something inside even though he stopped acting like the nice person he pretended to be.

“Don’t get me wrong, I thought about killing you the same as I thought about killing the kid, but I think it’s just not time….yet.”

“So he is still alive?” Brigit burst out before thinking of something else or the fact that her life was on the line. 

“Yes, he is. Why do you care so much about him?” Fontaine shifted in his seat leaning forward a bit.

“You know exactly why I do. He’s so much more than you think. He is a good person. He alone made the choice not to kill my little ones and saved every girl on his way on that cruel journey you put upon his innocent soul.”

“Well I didn't care about what happened to your creepy little creations and even though he let them live Jack became not so innocent in the end. He’s a killing machine.” Fontaine smirked mischievously.

“Only because you made him into one. Every time you told him oh so nicely what to do with this wicked phrase of yours, he had no choice but to follow. But now, now he knows who you are and what you did to him. There’s no way you can keep up with this façade of yours,” She gestured with her hand at his whole appearance. “Now you revealed yourself in person and there's no way he will side with you, knowing what you did to him.”

The man laughed and it sounded like the time he had told Jack that Atlas was all a big lie and that he was in truth the big bad Frank Fontaine everybody was so afraid of and thought was dead. He let the laughter last for a few seconds as if he was enjoying himself before he answered.

“But that doesn't change anything. He’s still my little puppet and I can do with him whatever I please.”

Brigit felt anger rising inside of her. There was literally nothing she could do right now. It was frustrating and irritating, but she knew that sooner or later there would be a way for her to help. She just needed to play her cards right and at the moment this meant to stay calm and wait for the right opportunity to arise.

“You're a cruel, abominable man with no heart.” She said eventually in a cold unemotional voice, not showing all the feelings inside her.

Fontaine smirked again and then rose from his chair.

“I don't care what you or anybody else thinks about me and be assured I'm not done with you yet, Mother Goose. You will pay for betraying me and you will pay for trying to take away what's mine.”

Their eyes met for one last time and when she looked at them, she needed to stay strong, so much menace was radiating from his look. He had become a man even more unpredictable after his transformation to the trustworthy Irishman Atlas. When the man finally left her in her solitude, her thoughts were with Jack again.

*-----*

He was on his way to his other prisoner, just that said prisoner didn't know he was one, yet, which was mostly owned to the fact that he was still unconscious. His first instinct after his big reveal had been to kill the kid and forget about everything, but then when the time had come, he could not have done it. He wasn't sure what had driven him to change his mind, but he knew that he still needed Jack. He was too useful to just kill off.

Fontaine wondered if the kid was finally awake and more importantly how he would react to him. He knew deep down that there was something else about Jack besides the fact that he had to do everything Fontaine asked of him when using “would you kindly”. It actually came to his mind only recently after his talk with Tenenbaum. There was something good in Jack, that's why he hadn’t harvested the little sisters and Fontaine was pretty sure that partly Jack had really wanted to help Atlas, that he cared about him. Maybe he could use that for an advantage.

Eventually, he arrived at the room where he held Jack captured. One lonely splicer was there to guard the locked door, but it seemed to be quiet inside. He opened it and entered the room.

There he was. Lying on a bed was Jack, still wearing the same old, now also blood-stained clothes. He looked like he was asleep, however at the same time he seemed awfully uncomfortable as if he was having a bad dream. Well who could blame him after all he had seen.

He took a nearby chair and placed it close to the bed. After he had sat down on it, he shifted his body so that he could focus his eyes on the man.

It was still so bizarre to look at this human being which seemed so normal from the outside, but who Fontaine knew was so different from the inside. What Suchong had done to make him grow faster and to program his mind was beyond everything he had seen in Rapture so far and he had seen a lot.

Suddenly Jack's body shifted slowly, and Fontaine could swear that his eyes were moving too. Was he really about to wake now? It seemed like the timing couldn't be more perfect.

Goose bumps spread over his arms. He felt the excitement inside his body making him nervous. He couldn't tell exactly where this feeling came from, but it wasn't unpleasant. It was more like he was about to meet his newfound enemy, who would definitely hate and try to overthrow him, however unfortunately, like his father he would never stand a chance.

As if preparing for something bigger than a man waking up, Fontaine stood from his chair and took one step backwards. A big smile appeared on his face as he saw the eyes of Jack opening. He seemed confused and tried to adjust his sight to the little light that shone through the room. He blinked several times and had not realized that he wasn't alone.

Fontaine wasn't sure if he should say something or if he should wait for Jack to see him. He decided for the latter.

Finally, Jack seemed to be fully awake and turned his head to look at the other man, but before the man could put on his evil Fontaine persona, he was caught off guard by what the other man said.

“Atlas. Is that you?”

For a moment the Fontaine part inside of him froze and his Atlas persona took over as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

“It's nice to see you in one piece, boyo.” There was no doubt. Jack didn't seem to remember what had happened in Ryan's office.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading my first chapter =) I've never planned to make a big story out of this. I was just randomly writing something from Jack's perspective and somehow the story started writing itself ^^ Please let me know what you think =) Stay tuned for the next chapter!


	2. Desire

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here's the new chapter :-) Have fun!

Was it really that easy? Had Jack really forgotten about what had happened in Ryan’s office? And then the other question was: Why? Why should he have forgotten about it? There seemed to be no logical explanation for this.

The moment Fontaine had realized that Jack had not reacted to him the way he had expected, he had automatically switched his personality back to how Jack used to know him. It was like a reflex. He was so good at it by now that sometimes he really believed he could just be Atlas if he chose to, which was ridiculous because the main reason he had come to Rapture was to get control of it and therefore he needed to be Frank Fontaine and Atlas was just part of his evil plans.

“Are you listening?” Jack’s still unfamiliar voice brought him back from his wandering thoughts.

“Atlas.” He said again, sounding weak and scratchy.

“I’m sorry. I’m just glad that you’re alive. You were unconscious for quite a while now.” He took his seat again and looked at Jack. He decided to play along. Jack obviously believed or wanted to believe that he was Atlas.

 _This is going to be interesting._ The real him whispered in his mind.

“How are ya’ feelin’?” He put on a genuine smile.

Jack tried to move and get himself in a sitting position which proved to be more difficult than expected. After a first failed try, Fontaine stood up and put one arm around Jack to support his back. With the man’s help Jack eventually managed to sit on the bed, his body leaning against the cold wall behind him. Fontaine let go of him slowly, making sure that the other wouldn’t fall again.

“Thank you.” Jack took a deep breath before he continued answering Fontaine’s previously asked question. “I feel like my whole body has been crushed. My head hurts to no end and everything’s still dizzy in front of my eyes. I don’t even know where I am and why you’re here.” Jack spoke slowly, ending his little description with him looking directly into Atlas’s blue eyes as if the answers were there to be found.

“You’ve been through a lot, so I guess I’m just happy ya’ made it here alive. And we’re in a safe place here, don’t worry, boyo. I brought ya’ here after what you did for me, to get you some rest.” Fontaine replied, starting to knit his new web of lies. 

The look on Jack’s face showed confusion. “I just cannot remember what exactly happened. I just remember the exploding submarine and that… I’m so sorry I couldn’t rescue them. If I had been there only a few minutes early maybe…” Jack stopped as if he didn’t want to go on.

Fontaine put his right hand on his shoulder to comfort him, even though in this scenario, if it were real, he should be the one to get comfort.

“Don’t worry about things that happened in the past. The important thing is that you helped me revenging’ me family at last, and that’s all what counts right now.”

“I did?”

 _Oh yes you did, kid. You killed your own father. Just for me and because you never had a choice._ Fontaine’s real voice spoke in his head. A pleasant shudder rushed through his body thinking of the truth behind everything, and still, the fact that Jack was loyal to him even now after everything Jack had heard from Ryan and himself, this was something he had never thought to be possible. It was a new opportunity; one he didn’t know yet how to use. However, there were still people in Rapture who posed a threat to him and having a loyal servant at his side who did everything he wanted to not only because of his conditioning but out of free will seemed even more valuable.

“Yes, ya did.”

Fontaine hesitated for a second. Would Ryan’s death trigger Jack’s memories? He couldn’t tell and there was no way to hide the fact that Ryan was dead anyway.

“You killed Andrew Ryan and revenged me family and all the bad things this man had brought upon us and this city.” Fontaine finally concluded, adding the family part again to emphasize on the fact that this was the main reason why they wanted to get rid of Ryan in the first place.

Jack closed his eyes as if he was trying to remember if what Fontaine had said was indeed the truth. When he opened them again, he still looked confused.

“I cannot remember any of this. Only fragments I guess.” His head sunk into his two hands hiding his face in it. Fontaine wasn’t sure if he was still trying to remember or if he just felt ashamed that he didn’t. Thus, he decided to ask him directly what he recalled.

Jack let his hands sink back down on the blanket and answered: “I know I was in a plane crash and found refugee here in Rapture and then I tried to help you to save your family. I thought I could also help myself if I helped you. There was this crazy Dr. Steinman. I killed him. And also Peach Wilkins in Neptune’s Bounty. And then it gets blurry in my head. I remember a forest or something similar, but this can’t be, can it?” He paused and looked at Fontaine.

“Your memory’s correct. This was Arcadia, you prevented Ryan from killin’ Rapture’s oxygen source. Do ya’ remember?” Fontaine tried to help him, but only so far that he didn’t risk being revealed.

Jack appeared as if he was trying to think about it, he looked almost in pain.

“I’m sorry, I don’t remember anything from this point on, only fragments like places. The forest is not the last location I was at… at least that’s what I think.” Their eyes met again.

“Yes, you’re right. I sent ya’ to Hephaestus straight after, because that’s where Ryan’s office was. And after ya’ finally made it to him,” he thought carefully about what to say next, “Ya’ broke down and I decided to get you and bring ya’ here.” Jack was silent. It seemed to Fontaine as if he was trying to remember if what he said was the truth, however, and to his advantage, he obviously couldn’t.

“I’m sorry. It’s just gone.”

“Don’t worry, boyo. For me the only important thing is, that you’re here and safe. First and foremost, you should rest now and not worry too much. Do you want one?” From the deep of his pockets he pulled a pack of cigarettes and offered it to the younger man. Jack nodded and picked one, but soon realized he didn’t have a lighter on him.

“Here.” Fontaine also had a pack of matches and gave it to him. When their hands touched for only a second, Jack seemed to freeze. It was only for a moment and then it was over. But Fontaine was clever enough to look the younger directly in his eyes and when they met, Jack abruptly averted his as if he felt uncomfortable.

 _Interesting,_ he thought to himself. _Why didn’t he react this way before?_

Eventually, the smell of fresh cigarette smoke filled the room and for a minute or so he let Jack enjoy this moment in peace, still thinking about his weird reaction. Fontaine wanted to test what he assumed might have happened.

_Could it be I am more than a friend for you, kid?_

“I don’t wanna’ bother you, but d’ya think you can walk a few steps? I just need to know how bad your condition still is and if we need further help.” He put on the most concerned face he was able to perform and he knew it worked, it always worked.

“I don’t want to, but I guess I can try.” Jack answered and forced a smile.

_Oh, you’re so sweet kid, doing it just for me. The perfect slave._

“I’ll help you no worries, boyo.”

He stood in front of the bed that Jack was sitting on and offered him his hand. Jack hesitantly took it and Fontaine looked at him, smiling and showing him that he would be there for him. A stranger watching the scene might assume he was trying to flirt, which was basically what Fontaine did in a subtle way. With his strong arm he pulled the other to the edge of the bed. Then he sat down beside him, grabbed Jack’s arm and laid it around his shoulders, so he was able to support him when he was trying to get on his feet. Jack was totally silent.

“Come here.” Fontaine said while also putting his arm around the other’s back. Then he encouraged him to try and stand up. “You can lean on me, don’ worry. I’m stronger than I look.” Jack chuckled.

“What’s so funny?” Fontaine asked.

“Don’t be so modest. You look… I mean I know that you...just…forget it.” Jack turned his head, so he didn’t need to look at Fontaine.

_This is too good to be true. Are you so nervous around me when I’m so close to you?_

While his thoughts raced in his head, outwardly Fontaine decided not to tease the other. He needed to be the nice comforting friend.

Eventually, Jack stood on both, but still shaky legs, slightly leaning on Fontaine’s shoulder.

“Do you think you can stand on your own?” Fontaine grabbed Jack’s hand that made sure he had something to hold onto and removed it from him. He took a step back and looked at Jack.

“You have a few injuries, but I guess the ADAM in your system will make them heal in a few hours, but what about some fresh water and ya get yourself cleaned up? I could get you some, if you like. I also have some fresh clothes too, if ya want?”

“Yes, thank you, Atlas.”

Fontaine nodded and came closer again. He put both hands on Jack’s shoulders. Their bodies were only a few centimeters apart and the fake Irish man could feel the other’s body getting stiff.

“I’ll get you everything, boyo.”

*-----*

Jack sighed. Atlas was finally gone and had left him here in his small room. He still didn’t know in which part of Rapture he was at the moment. However, this information didn’t seem that important to him right now anyway. In front of him stood a big bucket full of water with a cloth so Jack could at least wash himself a bit. Atlas had promised that he had a functioning shower somewhere but he didn’t want to risk Jack getting hurt and the thought of Atlas helping him shower was too much to bear at the moment, so Jack was happy the other had not offered him this option.

There were so many things to worry about right now, but his body had decided to play crazy and now he saw himself confronted with something unexpected. He could still feel that his pants felt uncomfortably tight, but he refused to do something about it. It was too embarrassing.

Until now, he had told himself that Atlas was important to him as an ally, even as a friend because he had emotionally bonded with this man in his quest to help him. However, now that he had met him in person, everything had changed. The man was still as he remembered him, the parts he could remember at least. But then there was something more. He wanted this man. He wanted to touch him, and he wanted him to touch him in return.

This was insane. Atlas was a man just like himself. It was not normal, or was it? And there was no way that he would feel the same. He just lost his family and of course he would not be interested in a man like him.

He shook his head and tried to ignore everything. Focusing his thoughts on something else he took off his jumper and shirt. Then with some struggling he also managed to take off his socks and pants. His shoes stood next to the door. Atlas or whoever had brought him here had put them there. He left on his underwear not looking down at him, knowing what he would see if he did.

The water in the bucket wasn’t warm, but fortunately it wasn’t cold as ice either. It took him a few minutes to clean everything, except for his back, but he felt much better than before. Afterwards he knelt next to the bucket. Every bone in his body screamed while he slowly leaned forward and dived his head into the water, so he could wash all the dirt and blood from his hair.

In the end he felt much better, even though now he felt like freezing to death. He grabbed the fresh clothes next to him on the bed and after putting them on and getting back beneath his blanket he felt almost comfortable.

There was also some canned food and water on the table, which he should probably eat, but for some unknown reasons, Jack didn’t feel the need to do so. He was still very tired and so he decided to get some rest.

*-----*

“He doesn’t remember!? Don’t try to fool me.” Brigit stated, her arms crossed in front of her chest.

“It’s true. Your brave little savior doesn’t know what happened. To be frank, I think he also doesn’t want to remember.” Fontaine took a seat opposite to her.

“Why shouldn’t he?”

“Oh, it’s too good to be true and I don’t know if you want to hear this, Mother Goose.” Fontaine put on a devilish grin.

“Stop calling me this.” She simply replied, not letting herself get provoked by his statement.

“If I play my cards right, little Jack will do whatever I please and everything without using my three little magic words.”

“Stop playing around Frank. Just say it. I don’t have time for your little games.” Brigit said half angry, half frustrated.

“You have all the time I grant you and nothing more, do you understand? As long as you won’t cooperate, your life is in my hands.” Fontaine’s voice had changed. It was dark and threatening and Brigit knew that she played with fire. Everyone working for Fontaine had known that this was a one-way street. If you want to quit, you die…or worse.

“How do you want me to cooperate? Do you want me to work for you again or do you want to fuck me?”

Fontaine laughed.

“I can assure you, for the latter I wouldn’t need your cooperation.” He stared at her and let the statement sink in.

“Anyway,” he continued as if nothing had happened, “I won’t need you to satisfy my sexual needs anymore. And do you know why, Kraut?” He folded his hands and leaned his elbows on the table, looking her right in the eyes.

“Enlighten me, Frank.” Brigit answered dryly, afraid of what he was about to tell her. She needed to stay calm. Whatever he would tell her, she had to stay focused and work on a plan to escape. Jack needed to know the truth, there was no other way.

“Because little Jack will do that for me.”

“Don’t you dare lay your hands on him, you sick bastard!” Brigit burst out.

“Oh, you get me wrong, you crazy woman. I believe I don’t need to force Jack to do anything. As I see it, the kid has clearly fallen for me, or rather for loveable, attractive Atlas.”

“You’re lying.” She didn’t know what to say. Was that really true? Could it be?

“Think whatever you want. But believe me when I say, I will take good care of him, don’t worry.”

And with these last words he rose from his chair and left her behind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading and as usual I'd like to hear what you think =)


	3. Subconscious

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we go chapter 3! yeah xD

He was back in the darkness, but this time it didn’t try to swallow him. It was just everywhere, all around. He stood in the middle of it, nothing else to see. Jack walked a few steps. His surroundings didn’t change a bit, however. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He remembered the last time being in here. The desperation, the fear of the truth he was about to uncover. Was it all gone?

Deep down inside the darkest place of his consciousness he knew there was still something he should know, something his inner self tried to protect him from. Did he still want to know what it was, or should he just drop it?

Jack thought about it. Wasn’t ignorance a blessing? Why bother himself with something he obviously didn’t want to remember? Wouldn’t it be much easier to just forget and move on?

He wasn’t sure. One part - one part that was becoming larger every minute, urged him to let go, however, there was still a small voice in his head telling him that this truth, he was avoiding, was important, something he shouldn’t ignore.

Jack started walking again. He needed to clear his thoughts. It seemed to him as if he had been walking forever when suddenly there was something appearing in a far distance. It looked like a door. A heavily secured door. He took a few steps faster until he was almost running towards it. The picture became clearer with every meter he came closer.

Then he suddenly remembered. This was in Hephaestus. This was the door to Ryan’s office. This was the place where he had killed the man. This was the event he desperately tried to recall.

The door was still a good distance away, but he steadily continued his way towards it. It happened when he was only a few steps away from it. It was a voice calling for him from behind. Atlas’s voice.

“Don’t go in there. You don’t need to see this.”

Jack turned around. Atlas was only a few steps away. His blue eyes stared at him with such intensity that Jack didn’t even think about turning his back on him again.

“I need to know what happened.” Jack said with a firm voice, trying to convince the other.

He turned his head for a second, just to check if the door was still there. It was, waiting for him to be entered.

Atlas’s voice turned Jack’s attention back to the other man still staring at him.

“Jack if you really want to go in there, I won’t stop ya’.” He looked sad. Then he continued. “But ya’ always have a choice. You can either go through that door, not knowin’ what will await ya’ in there or… “ he made a pause again and while he did so, his hands grabbed his suspenders and let them slide down from his shoulders before opening the first three buttons of his shirt, exposing a white undershirt which couldn’t hide his defined features. “Or you come to me, boyo. The choice is yours.” A nasty, but lascivious smile appeared on his face.

Jack gulped. What was happening here? Was this a dream? Was this an alternate reality? He couldn’t get a clear thought anymore. He just looked at Atlas who was still unbuttoning his shirt until he dropped it to the floor. Jack turned around. The door was further away than before.

“Look at me.” Atlas voice demanded and Jack obeyed.

With one smooth motion the other got rid of his undershirt and threw it into Jack’s direction who instinctively caught it.

Atlas stared at him intensively, challenging him to close the distance. His suspenders were hanging loosely beside his legs, making him look even cockier than he already did, now that he had exposed his torso.

“What are you waiting for. I’m all yours. Just forget this door and come to me.”

Jack took a step forward, almost automatically. Then another and another until he stood right in front of Atlas. One last time he wanted to turn around and check if the door was still there, but before he could do so, Atlas hand grabbed his chin and stopped him.

“Just look at me. I can give you everythin’ you need. Never think about that door again.” His voice was demanding, but also kind and warm.

Jack took a deep breath and let his head being turned back, so he could look at Atlas. The man was only slightly larger than him, so their faces were already closer than they had to be.

The Irish man’s other hand grabbed his hair and pulled him closer to him. Jack closed his eyes, ready for everything that was about to come and while he did so, the door behind him disappeared.

*-----*

Jack woke with a start. With one swift motion he sat up and looked around. It was dark as usual only the neon lights from Rapture’s illuminated buildings brightened the room. He rubbed his eyes and tried to recall what he had dreamed. It was as if the memory was there so close that he could almost grasp it, but the more he tried to do so the faster it escaped from him. After a few attempts he eventually gave up. It was no use. He just couldn’t remember, and it frustrated him. Not only because today he couldn’t remember his dream, but that this was the case almost every day since he had come here. And he just knew that there was something going on in his unconscious, that he wanted to understand and remembering his dreams, seemed to him the only way to do so.

It was no use, he couldn’t change anything right now, so he tried to ignore his longing for knowledge. Instead he pulled away his blanket and turned his legs to the floor. He felt much better after he had rested for the last few days. Atlas had come to visit him from time to time. Every time he did so, Jack was full of joy and happy to have company, especially Atlas’s, but at the same time he felt stupid as hell. It was ridiculous how he felt. Graving for every touch he might share with the man, made his body shiver in anticipation. Even thinking about it, made him cringe.

It was inappropriate to have those feelings in more than one way. First and foremost, he reminded himself that Atlas, being a man, would never reciprocate this desire and secondly, he had been a married man who had just lost his family. There was never even a slight chance for them.

It got even worse for Jack at least that’s what he thought. Sometimes he felt like having only sexual fantasies about Atlas and himself would be alright, but Jack knew that for him, there would always be feelings involved. He just couldn’t help it. Atlas was the only person he trusted the one person being at his side this whole time and every time he had heard his voice over the radio, he hadn’t felt alone in this hellhole. 

He didn’t know how much time had passed. He had eaten some of the canned food and had drunk some water. Afterwards Jack dressed himself and took one of the books, which Atlas had left him to read. However, he was only skimming through it, not really paying any attention to its content. He was rather waiting for his friend to visit him again which he knew could be anytime soon but having no real feeling for time down here anymore, made it really hard to guess.

A few minutes later then, it had actually felt much longer, he heard a knock on the door.

“Can I come in?” It was Atlas’s voice. Jack welcomed the sound of it immediately.

“Sure come in.” The younger replied and put the book aside. He was sitting at a small table, but when Atlas entered, he rose from his chair and faced his visitor.

For a reason unknown to Jack they had settled on a short hug for their greeting, which had been initiated by Atlas after their second meeting a few days before. Jack didn’t complain and enjoyed every second of it.

Afterwards they both took a seat and Jack realized that Atlas had brought a bottle of wine with him.

“How are ya’ feeling, boyo?” He opened the bottle while he waited for an answer.

“Much better for the first time to be honest. No pain anymore when I try to walk. I guess that’s a start.” Jack gave him a genuine smile.

“Sounds good. Wait.” His eyes wandered through the room. “Do you have any glasses here?” The Irishman continued to look around and eventually pointed at the cupboard. “Do ya’ know by any chance if…”

“Sorry I haven’t checked anything in here yet.” Jack mused. He already enjoyed his presence more than he probably should.

“I’m sorry. I don’t know every detail of every room here. I could get some glasses, or do you mind drinking from the bottle?” Atlas grinned.

“I don’t. Who needs glasses anyway.” Jack answered smirking, taking the bottle which was offered to him now.

He took a sip and enjoyed the taste of something different than water. 

“Hey! Let somethin’ left for me, boozer.” Atlas laughed.

Jack gave the bottle back to the other and watched him drinking. Somehow, he got lost in the look and began to inspect every part of his face. His features were handsome in a way he wasn’t able to describe. Jack had never thought about a man in such a way before and he wasn’t sure why he had started doing so now.

“Jack are you listening?” Atlas’s voice brought him back from his lingering thoughts. His first reflex was to feel ashamed and look at his feet, but he resisted. Instead he coughed slightly before answering.

“I’m sorry I got lost in thought.” He excused his strange behavior. And it wasn’t a lie either.

“I know it can be fascinating talkin’ to a normal human being down here in crazy town.” Atlas laughed again. He gave him the bottle and Jack took another sip.

Silence returned and Jack didn’t know what to say. He returned the bottle instead and waited for Atlas to say something, but the man was only staring at him smiling, which was almost uncomfortable, so Jack made himself say something.

“How come you care so much about me? I mean in the beginning when I came to Rapture?” Jack had asked himself this question a hundred times by now and why not just ask Atlas.

“Well, it’s like what I said to ya’ in the beginning, you must’ve felt like the most unluckiest man in the world and I was feeling sorry for you, but at the same time I knew you could help me out. Sorry for pullin’ ya’ into me crazy affairs down here.” Atlas apologized.

“But after everythin’ you did for me, I really hoped that you and I would make it out ‘ere alive. A journey like this will bind together and that’s simply what happened. Even though you did all the work, I guess.” He let out a laugh. “Sorry for that, but you were just a natural. Like you could handle the plasmids and weapons. I must say I’m still impressed.” His face changed to admiration and Jack could practically feel his staring gaze on him.

“After the crash, you gave me a purpose, a goal to pursue and I was happy to be of use at a point where I thought everything was over. But I never thought I would make a friend down here. Thank you.” Jack answered not really knowing how to respond to all this praise.

Silence again. They finished the bottle together and out of nowhere Atlas suddenly rose and took the seat right next to Jack. Then he leaned in and laid his arm around Jack’s back.

The younger man’s body became tense because of the sudden closeness, and he didn’t know how to handle the situation. Did he miss something or why had Atlas suddenly decided to come here? He was confused. Was it the alcohol? He couldn’t tell.

“What about that face? We’ve wine, good company and for now we’re save. Let’s just enjoy this sweet little moment together. I can barely remember the last time I felt relaxed down here.” Atlas stated, his voice almost whispering, which made him sound flirtier than he might had anticipated. This wasn’t exactly helping Jack to relax. He didn’t know what to say either.

Instead Atlas leaned in even closer and Jack could almost feel his breath on his skin. He felt goosebumps spreading over his arms, only thinking about the other man’s closeness and gulped. He couldn’t help it. Since he had seen this man for the first time, his body and mind had both sent him signals inescapably clear. He was drawn to this man. His guidance over the radio had been helpful and friendly and he knew that he had regarded this man quite early as a friend he wanted to trust. However, the first time Atlas had stood in front of him had changed the game further.

And now they were here. Atlas had since been gentle and nice like he had got to know him and still Jack knew that there was a piece missing in the puzzle. Something was awkwardly off, but every time he tried to remember his memories denied him the solution.

“What’ya’ thinking about, boyo?”

Jack jumped. He had himself being taken away by his thoughts. Again, he realized how close the other man was.

“Nothing. You know, sometimes I still try to figure out what happened in Ryan’s office. I wish I could remember.” Jack said trying to start a conversation again. He desperately whished for the other to withdraw from him. He tried to smile but failed.

Atlas slowly put his hand on Jack’s shoulder to comfort him. Jack resisted the urge to touch the Irish man’s hand.

“Listen. You don’t need to remember to know what you’ve done for me. It’s not important. The only thing that’s important to me is you bein’ safe here with me. That is more than I could have hoped for before I had sent ya’ to Andrew Ryan. Me family is dead, so you are the only one I care about, do you hear that?”

After that little speech Jack couldn’t help but smile.

“That’s better.” Atlas replied and smiled as well.

Jack felt relieved after that. He wanted that the other felt the same as he did, however, he didn’t know how far these feelings of his equated with Atlas’s. Had he noticed what was going on?

The first time he had realized that he wanted to be closer to the man he had been alarmed. Having such feelings for a man had seemed wrong and immoral. However now, after a second thought he had changed his mind. Why should he be ashamed of that? He had seen so many weird and unnatural things down here in Rapture, why should his feelings for another man be any different or wrong?

“You’re daydreamin’ again.” Atlas stated. “Do you want me to leave and rest?” He was about to let go of him when Jack finally grabbed his hand and burst out: “No!”

Atlas’s face looked surprised yet not uneasy.

“I-I’m sorry. It’s just…well I think I’m just a bit distracted by everything today.” Jack let go of Atlas and let his head drop a bit.

Suddenly he felt the warm touch of Atlas’s hand on his chin, lifting his head so he could look him right into the eyes.

“Don’t be distracted. You only need to focus on me, boyo.”

He leaned in and then placed his soft lips on Jack’s tenderly. The first second he was frozen. This couldn’t be happening. But soon Atlas’s other hand found its way into his messy hair and pulled him even closer, pressing his upper body against his as good as their sitting arrangement allowed them to. Instinctively, Jack mimicked his counterpart and wrapped his arms around the other man. This almost innocent kiss ended abruptly after a few seconds when Atlas let go of him.

“I’m sorry if I overstepped any line here.” He said almost immediately while Jack was still flabbergasted. Did that really just happen?

“No.” He said then adding. “Don’t be sorry. I don’t mind. I mean we’re in Rapture. You never know what happens next, right?” he tried to sound funny, so that the moment wouldn’t get even more awkward than it already was. _What a stupid thing to say._ He scolded himself. _What are you a stupid teenage girl?!_

Atlas smiled and got up from his chair. “You’re right, boyo. Get some more rest and I’ll be back soon.” He walked to the door and before he exited, he turned around one more time.

“I don’t regret what I’ve done.” And to top it all off he gave Jack a wink before leaving him for good.

Jack was still frozen like a statue, staring at the closed door. If this was a dream, he wished that he would never have to wake up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uhh so there was the first kiss hehe. I'm not good at slow burns haha, so I don't write them ^^ It was really hard to write from Jack's perpective and having such a nice and flirty Atlas, from time to time even I forgot that he was just Fontaine playing with poor little Jack's feelings ...okay enough talking. Stay tuned for the next chapter and comments are always appreciated of course ;-)


	4. Doubt

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Easter everyone! Before we get into chapter number four I want to thank everyone who has read this story so far and is still here xD Special thanks to everyone who left kudos or even commented. It's really appreciated and every feedback helps me to improve and make the story even better. So again thank you very much and I hope I can live up to your expectations with my future chapters :D. Happy reader, happy writer I'd say xD okay enough is enough, let's get to it !

It was total chaos. Jack had no idea where he was. Was this still Rapture or was he back in his dreamworld? It was as if he was living in two different worlds, but as soon as he would leave this one, he couldn’t remember what happened. The only thing he knew was that what happened there might help him to understand what was going on.  
Unlike the darkness he had expected to find, this time he could see many different things here. In a far distance he could see the door to Ryan’s office. A door still closed and mysterious to him. Then he could see a Big Daddy wandering around with one of the little sisters. He watched them for a while, trying to recognize a blurry figure standing right behind them. It was a woman, that much he could tell. He had the feeling that he knew her, but he couldn’t remember her face or even her name. However, something told him that she was important. Had he met her here in Rapture or somewhere else?  
He couldn’t answer his own question, thus he turned around and a big farm appeared in front of him. A picture so familiar. It reminded him of his family who he had left before a plane crash had changed his life for good. A comforting warmth spread inside of him, which was only flattened by the blurriness of the image. From time to time, he had the feeling he could see right through the building and the two people standing in front of it.  
Jack tried to let go of the image and turned to his left side. There it was. The smuggler’s hideout in Neptune’s Bounty. Or more precisely the submarine he had been looking at only a few days ago. It felt like this had been ages. At first, he slowly approached it, suddenly stopping in his tracks when he heard a familiar voice.  
“No, not me family. Moira! Patrick!” It was Atlas running towards the vehicle which would be his family’s final resting place. However, the submarine was still intact, and Jack wondered why Atlas didn’t try to free his wife and son.  
Another voice made him turn away from the odd scenario. “You feel something, you can’t quite put your finger on…think about it for a second, and maybe the word will come to you: nostalgia…”  
It was Andrew Ryan looking at him with his fierce eyes. Jack froze. This sentence rang a bell, but was he just imagining things, or had he already heard those words in the past?  
However, before he had the chance to think about it, everything around him went crazy and from each and every side he could hear different voices.  
“….Angels, Mr. Bubbles…..”  
“…There is another way; Use this...free them from their torment...I will make it to be worth your while... Somehow…”  
“…Moira... Patrick... Ain't that just like Ryan. Waits until we're almost out, and then he pulls the string! We'll find the bastard! We'll find him and we'll tear his heart out...”  
“…Come now, my child. There is one final thing to discuss…”  
Even though everyone was talking simultaneously, he was somehow able to make out every single voice, which did worsen his already confused state of mind. The scene became even more bizarre as everyone seemed to be stuck in their sequence and the voices didn’t stop repeating their text. They also seemed to become louder in Jack’s head, but when he tried to cover his ears with his hands, it didn’t work.  
As the promiscuity of voices eventually reached its crescendo, they suddenly fell silent. And in exact the same moment a new voice, a voice unfamiliar to Jack finished the weird event.  
“Aaah! Nice work, boy-o! It's time to end this little masquerade. Their ain’t no…” The first words sounded as clear as a bell, but with every word the voice faded away until there was total silence and Jack was once again swallowed by complete darkness.

*-----*

Jack woke with a start. His shirt was clinging to his cold sweated body. He felt like he had been running for hours. It was as if his sleep had not served its purpose. However, like the nights before frustration overcame him as he realized he could not remember a thing about his nightly adventures.  
Eventually, he left the bed making his way to his so-called bathroom. The first few days he hadn’t really realized that there was one. But he was happy about it, so he didn’t need to accept Atlas’s offer to use his private one.  
Though Jack didn’t have a shower, at least he had a working sink which sometimes even provided lukewarm water from time to time. It was enough to wash himself and helped him to lighten his spirits after nights like this last one. Unfortunately, he couldn’t remember the last time he had not felt absolutely whacked after waking up.  
After finishing his washing routine, he returned to his room and got some food and water to serve as his breakfast. Jack was so sick of canned food, but it was still better than starving, he thought. While he was eating the same meal for the innumerable time, his thoughts wandered back to yesterday’s meeting with Atlas.  
The more he was thinking about it, the stranger it all became. This whole kiss scenario had been so surprising to him, that his previous doubt about his friend had once again returned. It was just too good to be true. Jack couldn’t even think of one reason why Atlas should act the way he had done.  
Even though he had enjoyed the unexpected move from his friend, he couldn’t accept it the way it happened. Atlas’s family had just died, merely a few days ago. Who in their right mind would just go on and go for the next best to have, especially when said person was a man? This fact alone should prevent Atlas from doing such things to him.  
However, Jack didn’t want to doubt his only friend down here, it felt wrong and unjust. Maybe this whole situation did not only pay its toll on Jack but on Atlas too. Perhaps the man was just glad to have one real friend left and mixed those feelings with his old feelings for his wife. Could that be? Or was there something he just didn’t remember? Something from the part of his memory he just couldn’t recall?  
The young man had pushed away this thought since he had laid eyes on Atlas for the first time, but he knew that the other was having secrets, secrets he didn’t want to share with him for whatever reason.  
Maybe he should just ask him again and be a bit more persistent? There would be a simple explanation for everything, he guessed. There had to be one.  
However, then he remembered Atlas’s words as he had left him the day before. I don’t regret what I’ve done.  
Jack couldn’t deny the fact that he just wanted it to be real. He wanted to believe in this one tiny beacon of hope that maybe in all that confusion, Atlas’s feelings for him were mutual and that in the end both could leave Rapture and all that had happened behind.

*-----*

Brigit let out an annoyed sigh. This had to be a sick joke by now. In her opinion it was already enough punishment to be imprisoned here, unable to do anything but think about all the mistakes she had done in her life. She wasn't within her power to do anything for her little ones nor was she in any position to help poor Jack to come to his senses. And to make it all even worse, the man responsible for all this misery didn’t leave her alone. Instead, he came to visit her almost every day, tormenting her with his presence.  
By now she had been used to a lot when it came to Frank Fontaine, however, this was a completely new game.  
Sometimes Brigit still couldn’t believe how much she had changed in the recent months. It seemed like a lifetime ago since she had come to Rapture. She could remember everything so clearly in her mind. Her scientific work, being able to research without any ethical boundaries, her sponsor Frank Fontaine who paid for all her projects and who was also the man she had given her body to.  
It had been a time when she had needed all this, but now everything had changed and seeing this man, sitting opposite her filled her heart with anger and disgust. The urge was strong to jump at him and strangle him with all the strength left in her fragile body.  
However, she knew that she would never do such a thing. It would lead to nothing. Fontaine was physically stronger than her and angering him would be fatal when it came to the worst-case scenario. This was something she had to avoid. Staying alive was the only way to help her little ones and of course Jack.  
Brigit knew that the poor boy would sooner or later need her help if he wanted to get rid of his conditioning. She had been more than surprised though, when she had heard that Jack had amnesia.  
At first, she had been sure that Fontaine just wanted to fool her, but the more time had gone by, she realized it was the truth and Jack’s infatuation with Atlas was stronger than she had assumed. Once again, like so often lately, she really felt like a mother. The urge was immense to talk to Jack and tell him about having to do with the wrong man and that he should stay away from him. Somehow the thought alone amused her despite the seriousness of the situation.  
Brigit had slowly accepted the fact that she was only alive because Frank Fontaine chose to let her live and the only way to help Jack was to wait and hope that he would finally remember who Atlas really was.  
“Not talking to me won’t help you.” Fontaine’s voice made her realize he was still here.  
“But will talking to you really help me either?” She answered, sounding indifferent.  
“Well, if you count being alive as helpful, I would argue yes.” He glared at her.  
“Why do you come here, Frank? Aren’t there any other people you can talk to?” She replied, half annoyed, half amused.  
Fortunately, Frank Fontaine seemed to be in a good mood, so she easily got away with it.  
“To be honest, I enjoy talking to one of the last remaining people in Rapture whose body is not drugged with ADAM. It’s a nice change and as you know we used to have a connection once. So, don’t be so bitter about everything. Why not go back to how things were before?” He smiled, but it was more mischievous than genuine. Still, she couldn’t deny that it made him look desirable.  
Since he had become Atlas, there was something about him that made him appear undeniably attractive. At least from that point of view Brigit understood why people fell for him and gave him all their trust.  
“No, I will never go back. Everything I did has changed me for good and nothing will reverse that.” She finally said.  
“Too bad. Anyway, don’t you wanna’ know how the kid’s doing?”  
Brigit knew it had only been a matter of time before Fontaine would touch his new favorite topic. Sometimes this man was more than predictable. Her latest approach regarding it was not to get provoked by him. All she did was gathering information and somehow that might help her, hopefully.  
“You’ll probably tell me now.” She smiled.  
Fontaine chuckled.  
“Do you know what I think is the most remarkable thing about him?” He made a pause before he continued. “He hasn’t even asked me once about leaving Rapture. He is just so happy about my company that he also never asked me to leave his room. As if everything he is thinking about is me.”  
There was a pause before Brigit replied.  
“But you have no guarantee that he won’t remember your true identity and nature. What will you do when his affection turns into hatred? One on one I would bet on Jack not you.”  
Fontaine’s smile grew wider. “You forget something, you stupid woman. The kid will not lay one finger on me as long as I have my would you kindly.”  
“So basically, you just rely on what Suchong has worked on. You know once he knows the truth, Jack will do everything he can to fight you. He won’t take the betrayal well. Unmöglich.”  
Her voice sounded more emotional than she had intended, but Fontaine was still relatively calm.  
“Only two days ago I would’ve agreed with you, but I realized something. Even if he finds out about my little masquerade, I still possess the one thing he currently desires the most and that’s Atlas.” His content smile turned into a triumphant grin.  
Slowly but surely Brigit got really annoyed by his over confidence in his Atlas character.  
“Don’t be so sure of yourself. Once he remembers and realizes that you are Frank Fontaine, he won’t be able to think of you as Atlas anymore.”  
“I think I can be quite convincing. Ya’ know I’m fighting for the poor people of Rapture and I need your help.” Atlas’s Irish accent echoed through the room. And not just the voice had changed. Fontaine’s whole aura was gone, and Brigit suddenly felt as if a totally different person talked to her. She hated to admit it, but yes, he was convincing.  
One moment later it was all over, and Frank Fontaine was back. “I guess your silence proves me right.”  
Brigit needed a moment to regain her senses. This whole conversation led to nothing. She needed to get more useful information.  
“So, what’s the big plan now that you have Andrew Ryan dead and his genetic key of the city? What do you want, Frank?”  
The man leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms in front of his chest.  
“You and I both know that there’s more than one person down here in Rapture who believe they are above everything. Most prominent of them all would be this psychology bitch Lamb. God how I hate her and her little fanclub.”  
So that was what he was up to. Well, she agreed in so far as that she wasn’t a fan of that woman either.  
“Alright. And you will use or want to use Jack to help you with that. Why not your filthy little army of splicers?” She asked raising her eyebrows.  
“Lamb is clever and before I can overthrow her organization, I need more information about it. Jack is my perfect weapon. One way or another, he will help me if he wants to or not. It’s up to him.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So what do you think? Next chapter we get another meeting of Jack and Fontaine/Atlas....stay tuned ;-)


	5. Reveal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! Again thank you for all your amazing feedback so far =) So here we go with chapter number five. Have fun!

It was already late afternoon, at least if his feeling of time was somehow intact. Jack sat at the table a book in his hand. For the last thirty minutes, he had been more or less skimming through the pages as the topic of the book wasn’t really intriguing. It was something about botany and he only vaguely remembered that his trip to Arcadia had taught him something about how essential the trees were for the production of oxygen here in Rapture. Thanks to Atlas, he knew that he was the main reason they were all still alive but nonetheless, he just couldn’t understand all the processes behind it. It just bored him to no end and aside from that, he wanted his friend to come and finally visit him again. Jack had so many questions he wanted answers to, and he was resolved to get them.

From time to time, he still tried to remember his weird dreams, but no matter how hard he tried to go back and revisit the images, he failed. Having the whole day all to himself had not helped him in the slightest when it came to his doubts about everything. At first it had only been the kiss that had startled him, however, now after hours and hours of mulling over everything, he wanted to remember so badly what had happened in Ryan’s office.

Nevertheless, a voice inside of him told him the opposite, that he was just overthinking everything and that he should not worry too much. So many bad things had happened: the plane crash, Rapture and almost all its lunatic inhabitants. Only the memory of Dr. Steinman or Sander Cohen, who he had just recently remembered, were proof enough. Maybe after all that it was hard for him to believe that there were still good things happening to him. Jack didn’t want to be selfish, however, deep down he believed that he deserved happiness after all.

A knock on the door released him from his tenseness. Eagerly, he raised from his chair and turned around, so he could look straight to the entrance of his room. After he heard the clicking sound of a lock being opened, he actually realized for the first time that his door had been locked in the first place. How could he have not noticed that and why had he never even thought about leaving his room once? He felt stupid. All this had to end today. He was finally thinking clearly for the first time, he believed.

“Oh, I see ya’ expectin’ me already, boyo.” Atlas greeted him amusedly. “Look. I brought another fine wine and this time I didn’t forget the glasses.” He clinked with two small glasses in his right hand and showed the bottle with his left. “What’s with that look? Aren’t ya’ glad to see me? Is anything wrong?” He walked over to the table and placed everything on it, taking a seat. Jack sat down too.

“No, well yes. I’ve been thinking a lot today, you know.” He started carefully.

“Well, I guess it’s not too exciting spending most of your time here in this room.” He laughed. Jack frowned.

“Well, my door is locked, so where should I’ve gone anyway? And I don’t even know where I am?” Jack’s tense mood from before had gotten worse already. He felt as if Atlas was not taking him seriously.

“I’m sorry, but I never said that you couldn’t leave. I just thought you’d still need time to recover and get everything straight. And to answer your last question. We’re in Olympus Heights, but as ya’ not a resident of Rapture, I didn’t think that’s an important information for ya’.” He explained himself.

Olympus Heights. Well, he had really no idea where that was nor did it help him with any of his questions. The fact that he should just have asked if he had wanted to leave, did seem a bit too convenient though. He didn’t want to call Atlas a liar, but he couldn’t be certain that what he said was true.

“Okay. But …” Jack began.

“Wait a second, before ya’ continue let me fill your glass first. Calm down boyo, everythin’ is fine. What’s wrong with you today?” He raised his eyebrows while pouring some wine in one of the glasses, pushing it over to Jack.

“I’m fine, I just want some questions answered. I’ve been having weird dreams every night and I know that my subconscious wants to remember what happened. It’s important. Don’t you get that I want to know?” He asked.

“Of course, I understand, but there’s nothin’ interesting for you to remember, at least nothin’ that would change anything anyway.” He took a sip of his wine.

“Why do you keep saying that? How can you be so sure what’s important and what’s not?” His voice was sounding angrier than he intended to.

“I’ll stop you right here, boyo. Could it be that there’s somethin’ else you’re angry about? Is it the kiss?” Atlas retorted, striking a nerve.

For a moment, Jack didn’t say a word. He had wanted to avoid this topic for as long as possible as it was the most sensitive one for him.

“Why did you do that?” Jack stated after he regained his senses.

Atlas laughed.

“Seriously? That’s what ya’ thinkin’ about? I just did it and you didn’t seem to hate it either, or am I wrong?” An impish smile appeared on his face.

“But what about your wife? She just died a few days ago and you …and you go on to the next best person to get over it. And this person turns out to be a man too. It doesn’t make sense!” Jack stood up from his chair as he needed to get rid of all the energy which had been growing inside of him.

“As long as you don’t have a problem, I don’t have one. Calm down Jack. Everythin’s alright. But Moira is dead and the man responsible for it, too. The only person I’ve left is you.” Atlas rose from his chair as well and approached Jack slowly.

He wanted to believe him so badly, but the longer this conversation went on, he felt that something was off. It was all too easy. Atlas reached for Jack’s shoulder, but he backed away.

“Then please tell me about Andrew Ryan. How did he die?”

“You killed him.” Atlas stated bluntly, his voice still sounding friendly, but it had lost some of his sincerity.

“Yes, but how did I do it?” Jack kept asking.

“You killed him with a golf club. It was brutal.” Atlas voice lost all of it friendliness now.

Both of Jack’s hands covered his face. He tried so hard to remember, but he still couldn’t. Thus, he dared to ask another question.

“A golf club? Why a golf club, that makes no sense. I cannot remember anything. Were you there with me? Didn’t Ryan defend himself? Why did I….” Jack would never finish this last question. It was what Atlas said next that changed everything. The Irishman had finally lost his temper and interrupted him angrily.

“Christ. Would you kindly stop asking me all these questions!”

Several things happened simultaneously now. First of all, Jack abruptly fell silent. Not only because the other had interrupted him, but even if he had wanted to speak, he just couldn’t. For these few seconds, he felt as if his own body was not obeying him in the slightest anymore and it was this what finally triggered all the hidden memories. The weight of the whole truth was so heavy, that for a second, he felt like he was going to break down.

“You’re. Not. Atlas.” He finally managed to say, pronouncing every word like he was still doubting his own statement. However, deep inside he knew that what he said was the truth. The man standing only a few meters away from him first looked slightly surprised but soon his expression changed to something he had never seen in Atlas’s face before – schadenfreude.

“You’re…” Jack began again but was interrupted.

“Yes, I’m not Atlas. There never was an Atlas to begin with.” The man said, no trace of an Irish accent left in him.

“I remember. You’re that Frank Fontaine! You controlled me the whole time, you just used me!” Suddenly Jack felt this great pool of anger rising inside of him. He just wanted to hurt this man - now. Thus, he grabbed him by his shoulders and smashed him against the wall next to them.

“Give me one good reason not to kill you right now.” He spit through gritted teeth.

Jack’s heart was broken. This couldn’t be it. His mind was still looking for another solution, for another memory, but now everything was clear in his head. Everything had returned. All the bad memories his mind had tried to block from him, to protect him from the truth, from the disappointment, from the huge betrayal he felt inside his heart. Atlas was his friend. Atlas was the person he valued the most. Atlas was the man he thought he loved. But everything was a lie. Their kiss was a lie, everything that had been spoken between them: a lie. Had Atlas just been playing with him all the time even after Ryan’s death? No. There was no Atlas. There was only Fontaine.

Jack’s emotions were out of control. There was so much going on in his mind right now, that he felt like his head was about to explode. First, the whole Rapture experience, then learning about his feelings for the man he thought was Atlas and now the belated revelation that everything he had done so far or believed to be true was all a big lie.

Fontaine remained quiet but his expression had changed, finally. This was not the kind, friendly man he got to know. This was a manipulative, evil and cunning man. The whole warm- and open-hearted aura of him was gone replaced by something so sinister and repulsive that it made him sick.

“Say something!” Jack barked. “Stop smiling you fucking bastard.” His anger took hold of him and he felt tears running down his cheeks. Tears of betrayal and anger.

“You won’t kill me, kid.” Fontaine’s smile remained.

There it was again. This was not Atlas. It was as if the voice and the man it belonged to did not fit anymore. It sounded so different to what he was used to, he didn’t know how to handle it. What should he do? Kill him right here? He was so low on Eve that there was no chance in using his plasmids and right now he had to admit that Fontaine was right. He couldn’t kill him. Too much had happened. To say his emotions were in a highly confused state was clearly more than an understatement. Frustrated, he slammed the man’s body hard against the wall before he let go of him.

“Listen, kid. I knew this day would come. I just thought it might take a bit longer, but well life ain’t easy.” Fontaine rubbed his shoulders.

“You son of a bitch. You’ve played with me all the time even after I killed Ryan. Why didn’t you tell me the truth? What were you afraid of?” Jack replied, almost spitting the words.

“Afraid?” Fontaine laughed. “Why should I be afraid of the truth. I love the truth. I love how I could fool everyone to believe in good old Atlas and his believes. And to see you fall for me after all what happened? Your mind trying to prevent you from seeing the truth because what? Because you fucking adore me, kid!” The smile turned into a wicked grin.

“I don’t adore you!” Jack almost screamed, getting two steps closer again to corner his opponent who still stayed calm which infuriated him even more.

“You don’t have to deny the way you feel. You see, after all that happened, I actually was kinda enraptured by the fact that my loyal slave wants to be even more devoted to me than I initially believed and that out of free will too.”

“Free will?” Jack placed one hand around Fontaine’s throat. “I don’t have a free will. You took care of that. And I will never be devoted to you, Fontaine. You tricked me, you made me believe you were my friend, a person I could trust, a person I could…” Jack couldn’t finish.

“Love?” Fontaine ended his sentence mockingly.

He let go of him once more. It was as if his brain wasn’t functioning anymore. Everything was in the wrong place as if he didn’t know anymore what to feel. He didn’t know how to handle the situation anymore. It was all becoming too much. He needed to leave, right now. He turned his head. The door was still unlocked. With one turn he went for it, but before he could get even close, he heard Atlas’s familiar friendly voice.

“Stop, would you kindly.” 

Jack froze. Now that he remembered about himself being mentally controlled by that phrase it seemed like he could almost feel his body acting on his own. It was a weirdly comfortable shiver and still he despised everything about it: the most that Fontaine had used Atlas’s friendly tone. He wondered if he would have stopped just because of that fact as well. But this was something he would probably never find out.

Eventually, Jack turned around again, looking at the face of the man he believed he loved, however, it looked so different to what he had heard in his voice before. He looked amused, but not in a positive way. More like ‘I got you right where I wanted’ amused.

“Come here, kid.” Fontaine said, now sounding like the American he truly was.

Jack hesitated for a second. He knew that if he refused, Fontaine would make him obey anyway.

“Don’t make me say it again.” Fontaine went on and gave him an angry look. Thus, Jack gave up and took the few steps back to where the other man stood next to the wall.

“Why did you do this to me?” Jack asked him the moment he halted. He stood an arm length away from him.

“What do you mean?” Fontaine replied calmly, showing that he was the one having everything under control.

Jack took a deep breath. He needed to focus. There were so many emotions swirling through his head that he thought he was about to burst. His confused feelings about a man that had apparently never existed but was still standing in front of him and the hate he felt for the true self of said man turned his emotions upside down. It was like he was not sure if he would like to kill or kiss him.

“Why did you play along? Why did you make me believe that Atlas was real even though you knew that sooner or later I would probably remember who you really are and what you’ve done to me?” To his own surprise, his voice was steady and calm despite what he was feeling inside.

Fontaine laughed.

“Poor kid. Well, as you might’ve guessed already, initially I wanted to kill you after you killed Ryan for me, but you’re so talented. The skills you’ve shown during your journey through Rapture. I mean I’m honestly impressed. How could I get rid of a weapon like you? A weapon I could so easily control as well?”

“I’m not a weapon. I’m a man. A man with…”

The other interrupted him.

“…with human feelings?” He bridged the gap between them and grabbed his chin with his right hand. “A man with desires and needs.” He purred into his ear. “A desire for me.”

Jack froze. The man was so close to him that he could feel the breathing against his skin.

“No, not for _you._ ” Jack hissed defiantly.

“But for me, am I right boyo?” Atlas sweet voice spoke to him.

This was pure torture. Fontaine was so damn good at this. The moment he heard Atlas talk to him, he couldn’t but experience this warm feeling inside of him and also something else. A desire to grab the man, pull him against the wall and … No! He had to stop thinking about this.

After a few moments of silence Jack finally spoke again.

“Why did you kiss me?” The question sounded even more stupid now that he had said it out loud. Fontaine stepped back again before he answered.

“Well, I’ve never expected you to have that sort of feelings for me to be honest, but when I realized you did, I thought it was an intriguing situation. Something I hadn’t seen coming and who would be more loyal to me than a lover who is so devoted to me?” He grinned.

“But I am a man. I am …” He was at a loss of words.

“Kid, I’ve been in Rapture for so many years now, do you really think that I care about something like that anymore? I take the things as they come.” Fontaine smiled at him. “And I’m still curious how far your affection really goes.”

Jack stayed quiet. He didn’t know what to say anymore. He didn’t get what Fontaine was up to. This whole situation went different than he had expected it.

“I have an offer to make to you, kid. And know that I’m just too good in a mood, so listen carefully. I will not repeat myself and I’ll make this offer only once. You know I could just use you like a puppet and make you do what I want, and you would have no choice but to do so, understood?”

Jack nodded in approval, curious what this man wanted to offer.

“There are still a few people in Rapture I need to get rid of. You will help me doing so. I won’t use that phrase on you as long as you don’t get out of line once. Betray me and you will get to know what it means to betray Frank Fontaine.” He made a pause and looked Jack in the eyes. “However, if you are obedient and do everything I ask of you I will reward you.”

Jack’s heart was beating faster than he wanted to admit as he waited for the other to tell him what he hoped he was about to tell him.

“If you’re a good boy, you can have me anytime ya’ want.” Atlas Irish accent whispered in his ear once again.

A cold shiver starting from his shoulders found its way right to his crotch. This was one messed up situation he was in and still he knew that this was the best option he could have ever hoped for in the first place. Fontaine offering him this deal was something so absurd that he had to accept. This was literally the best he could make out of this situation. There was no way he could rebel against this man, not if only three words were able to make him heel like a dog. He had to agree, but he wanted proof of Fontaine’s sincerity.

“Show me that you mean it.” Jack demanded and knew it was a bold move.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Everyone loves a cliffhanger, am I right? xD let me know what you think and thanks for staying with me and my story! :)


	6. Plans

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's in the middle of the night, but I just finished Bioshock Infinite for the fourth time and finally on 1999 mode and got my platinum trophy. Now I officially have the platinum trophy for each Bioschock game! Yeah. And therefore I will upload the chapter a bit earlier than usual ^^ ( I know it's only a few hours but still) Please have fun. I rewrote some parts of that chapter as I wasn't too happy with my first version. So I hope you'll like it =)

Jack locked gazes with Fontaine, his eyes shining with a challenging almost cocky spark in them. As if he either assumed that everything was a bluff or that maybe he wanted it as bad as him, which was not true. The change in Jack’s behavior was sudden but not unwelcome. It felt almost surreal that only a few minutes ago he had felt Jack’s hands around his throat, ready to kill him. And now the kid looked at him with this mix of greed and only slight tentativeness in his eyes.

Claiming that Fontaine had never even thought about this, would be a lie. It was true to say that he had been intrigued. However, this was not something he had expected from the very beginning. Fontaine had never imagined getting into such an unusual situation. But he was a man who easily dealt with surprises. He was able to adjust to whatever the world had to offer. That was the reason why he had come so far in his life. Thus, the fact that Jack was highly infatuated with the man he had created to finally claim Rapture as his, was exceptional, but the opportunity it held had just been too delicious to let go. Could he make Jack so dependent on him that “would you kindly” would no longer be necessary? There was only one way to find out…

Eventually, Fontaine grabbed Jack’s face with both of his hands, pulled him closer and pressed his lips onto his. Unlike their first kiss, this time Fontaine did not see any need to play innocent and shy. Instead he almost forced Jack to open his mouth to gain access to it. The older man almost grinned when he felt the younger willingly playing along with it. Jack had his arms wrapped around him in order to press their bodies together even tighter.

Suddenly he felt Jack pulling at his shirt before the cold of his hands touched the warm skin of Fontaine’s back. Goosebumps spread all over his body while greedy fingers slid over his smooth skin trying to cling to the muscled backside in its attempt.

_Damn. I wish your father could have seen this._

The whole experience was mesmerizing. Jack really seemed to want him badly but at the same time you could literally feel the aggression still lingering inside of him.

 _Two souls, alas, are housed within my, well your breast. And each will wrestle for the mastery there._ Fontaine mused. 

Fingernails dug deep into his skin and for a moment he wondered if Jack actually tried to harm him, but the next moment he stopped, and Fontaine decided to finally break their kiss.

“Was this convincing enough for you, boyo?” The man asked in his Atlas voice, a cocky grin on his face.

Jack’s hand was still caressing his back and Fontaine couldn’t deny that he enjoyed the touch. It had been too long since he had shared anything like that with another person.

“What about my reward for Andrew Ryan. It’s only fair to take him into account too, don’t you think? Now that I know who this man really is?” Jack said, a shimmer of lust still clouding his gaze.

Fontaine was actually a bit surprised. Jack was way cheekier than he had expected. Especially, after he just tried to kill him only a few minutes ago. Moreover, he got to know him as the silent and calm type most of the time, so ultimately this was uncharted territory for both of them.

Fontaine considered his options. He could leave the other here until he knew which enemy would be tactically the best to go after first. Then he could wait and see if Jack would do his job as promised without any signs of rebellion. Or he could accept the offer hanging in the air between them, however, how far did he want this to go yet? The most important thing was that he needed to be the one in control all the time.

All of the sudden Jack’s voice brought him back to reality. It seemed like he had taken to long for an answer. Jack’s cheeky attitude had disappeared and there was almost something pleading in his eyes. The kid was one mess of emotions apparently.

“Just give me a bit more time with Atlas and I’ll do whatever you want.” Jack was obviously desperate enough to lower himself into that position. Fontaine grinned, trying not to look to devilishly amused.

“But that wasn’t the deal, kid.” He grabbed the younger one’s chin with a firm hand. “You can have me as promised if you keep your word. I showed you how serious I’m about our agreement so return this favor now.” He concluded almost adding “would you kindly” in the end. _Well, bad habit._ He thought.

Fontaine freed himself from Jack’s grip. The other looked disappointed for a second before he decided to put on a more neutral face. Maybe Jack had finally realized how much of his obsession for Atlas had been shown to Fontaine and he wanted to regain some of his dignity.

“What do you want me to do?” Jack said his voice sounded firm and professional. Fontaine let go of him and grinned.

“Oh, I like the sound of that, but as long as you behave, I will treat you as my partner. However, if you prefer the other way, I don’t mind either.”

He enjoyed this situation more than he had expected. Initially, he had thought that their little hide and seek game would last a bit longer and the moment the “would you kindly” had slipped his lips, he had regretted it deeply at first. But the longer he thought about it the more he believed that this was even better.

Now, he didn’t have to come up with a way how Atlas would convince Jack to help him getting rid of people he had never even heard of. Furthermore, Fontaine had laid all his cards on the table, which spared him a lot of trouble and the best was that he had been right about Jack’s reaction. Yes, he had felt betrayed and double-crossed for the second time, however, despite all that he was still willing to cooperate just because of a fake personality named Atlas. _Oh, isn’t life beautiful?_

“Treat me like you want, Fontaine or do you prefer Frank? As long as you’re not Atlas it doesn’t matter to me anyway.” Jack responded dryly.

“Oh, that hurts, kid.” Fontaine answered, grabbing his chest acting offended. “Anyway, I’ll need to get back to my office before I can give you further instructions. I’ll lock you in again and come back soon. Then we will discuss the rest.” He turned to the door. The conversation was over for him.

“Wait. I have one more question.” Jack stopped him before he could leave.

Fontaine stopped in his tracks. “What is it, kid?”

“Am I really Andrew Ryan’s son?” he suddenly asked.

Fontaine was surprised. This question came out of the blue and it didn’t occur to him why it was important now. But he was in a good mood, so he also didn’t mind answering his question.

“Well I guess you know the answer to that yourself. Why bother now?” He therefore replied.

“Why me? Was it that important that I was _his_ child?” Jack asked further.

 _There were go again. Questions over questions._ Fontaine thought to himself. “Well at first it was just a lucky coincidence, but nevertheless that you possess part of Ryan’s DNA was crucial for my plan. One example. You’re able to use the Vita Chambers and bots take longer to recognize you. And yes, it was…is a personal triumph to been able to use you, his child, as my loyal pet, to kill him.”

For a moment there was silence. Jack didn’t make a move to say anything else. He just stared at him, slightly angry, but mostly thoughtfully.

“If that’s all, I’ll leave now. Don’t overthink it too much. Look forward to our new partnership and not back to what lies in the past, kid.”

Then he finally left. 

*-----*

Back in his own penthouse suite which Fontaine had moved into again, he got himself a drink before he sat down at his desk. He decided it was far too quiet in here. He could only hear the not too pleasant talking of two splicers he had commanded to stay guard close to his office - just in case. But fortunately, he was still in possession of a working phonograph and so soon after the sweet tunes of _Beyond the sea_ filled the room.

Fontaine could call himself lucky. His apartment was in better shape than most of Rapture, even though there were still places left where one could live, he guessed. But with all the rogue splicers it was a dangerous life, especially, if you are not spliced up like most of the people.

Nonetheless, here in his little hideout he felt safe. He had enough people working for him, defending his life with theirs and after Andrew Ryan was dead, he had decided to return to his home. It didn’t matter anyway if someone would get suspicious now. Fontaine decided he deserved to get some better living quarters once again after spending a lot of time in Apollo Square.

Well, it was not totally irrelevant what people thought. Depending on whom Fontaine spoke to, he would behave differently. To some he was the nice and friendly Atlas like he had introduced himself to Jack. To others he could act a little more open, like his true self, but he would still be Atlas. It was important to his followers that he was one of them. As Fontaine he had mostly controlled many of his minions by fear or made them addictive to Adam of course.

As Atlas he had purposely chosen another approach. One that would easily work on the majority of Rapture’s frustrated inhabitants and which would also be the most irritating thorn in Ryan’s side.

He took a sip from his whiskey and ran his fingers through his hair. This was a vital moment, he knew. He was finally about to get any progress in his new plans. On the surface it had always been him versus Andrew Ryan, which was basically true, but Fontaine had never forgotten about Lamb and her entourage. As far as he knew she hadn’t done any specific moves yet. It seemed as if she had been watching this whole fight between Andrew Ryan and “Atlas” from a secure distance, but it was only a matter of time before this woman would try to gain control over Rapture. The simple consequence was that Fontaine had to act one step ahead of her.

First, he needed to get more information about her and her doings. Unfortunately, he had neglected this field completely, focusing totally on Andrew Ryan. However, he knew exact the right person who would provide him with all he needed to know, if said person was willing to speak.

 _I will get him to speak. Most of Rapture knows the nice and helping Atlas. I guess it’s time to drop my façade for this special guest._ Fontaine mused in his head, already looking forward to the meeting.

The man he was thinking about was no other than Augustus Sinclair. They had had a partnership once, as Sinclair had provided him with prisoners from Persephone, which he had used for his plasmid testing and research but beyond that the man had rather worked with Ryan, even though the founder of Rapture hadn’t been too keen about Sinclair’s business strategies.

However, all that was relatively unimportant. It was just a fact that Sinclair knew a lot of things and the fact that Lamb had been held captive in Persephone was definitely crucial. After everything literally went to hell in Rapture, Fontaine wasn’t exactly sure where the man currently resided, but he had heard some rumors that Sinclair was hiding somewhere in Ryan Amusements.

Fontaine wondered if Sinclair had the slightest idea about Atlas’s true identity. He was the kind of man who would just make a clever assumption about something and hit the nail on the head. Meeting him would not only be interesting, but also refreshing. A new player in the game, so to say.

Therefore, it was Ryan Amusements where Jack would need to go for him. He was aware of the fact that sending out the kid all by himself held a certain risk, but Fontaine was relatively sure right now that everything would go according to his plan. And besides without Tenenbaum there was no way Jack could get himself cured of his conditioning anyway.

He reached down to one of the drawers and opened it. Inside was the shortwave radio Jack had been using throughout his journey and which he was about to use again.

 _Ah nostalgia. I’m really looking forward to this._ Fontaine leaned back in his chair, remembering how he had led Jack through Rapture, his always loyal companion. Somehow, he had gotten used to it and the fact that everything had been going so smoothly - except that Sander Cohen debacle - made him look forward to their new challenge.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And this it is for now. As you can see I will use some elements from Bioshock 2 in the future and therefore ignore the time gap between Bioshock and Bioshock 2 ^^ well it's fanfiction, you all know how it works xD Did you like the chapter and where things are going? What are you most excited about and what do you think might happen in the future ? I'd like to hear your thoughts and chat about it ;-) See you next week.


	7. Sinclair

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Today we will revisit some familiar place from Bioshock 2 ;-) For me personally, this was one of my favourtite levels in the game, so I tried to put a lot of effort into writing this. I hope you enjoy =D

Jack stared down at his hands. The shortwave radio in it revoked a lot of memories. Even now, as he had his full memory back, the gadget mostly contained positive emotions for him. It seemed like a long time ago that this had been the only connection to his companion Atlas. It had only been a voice, but a voice he had decided to trust, unfortunately. Knowing the truth still hurt him deeply, however, even when he thought about it again and again, he came to the same conclusion. Accepting the deal had been the best he could have done.

Jack had finally realized that in retrospect he had never had a chance. Everything, his whole life had been planned for him. It had been inevitable that he would come to Rapture and fulfil his destiny and kill Andrew Ryan. The only unforeseen thing had been his affection for his puppet master. It was obviously something the other man had not seen coming either, which gave Jack some sort of triumph despite the fact that he now hated himself for having those feelings in the first place and especially how he had himself let go after Fontaine had proposed the deal.

Well, it didn’t matter anyway. Fontaine was the one in control with his ability to make Jack obey with three simple words. Of course, the thought of flight had crossed his mind more than once since he had finally left his room and had been sent to a place he had never been before. But it was useless. Where should he go here in Rapture? He had nobody else to turn to for help. Maybe this woman Tenenbaum who he had met in Medical Pavilion? But he had no idea where she could be or if she would be willing to help him or if she was still alive. The fact that he had never harvested one of the little sisters might come in handy in this matter, but as long as he didn’t know about her whereabouts or as long as he was accepting his agreement with Fontaine there was no real reason to pursue this target.

Eventually, he tucked the radio away. It was attached to his belt, so that he was able to hear his partner’s commands directly. Next, he checked his weaponry. He had a simple pistol and a machine gun. Not really a lot if it came to a fight with a Big Daddy, but he wasn’t planning on fighting one anyway. He also had received some Eve from Fontaine, so he was well enough equipped for any basic fight situation.

Jack took one of the Eve syringes and stuck the needle deep inside his arm. Instantly, he felt the power of his plasmids awakening and a familiar surge of energy tingled through his whole body. It not only gave him a feeling of strength but of security too. Suddenly the long-missed sound of the awakening radio attracted his attention.

“Did ya’ arrive safely at Ryan Amusements?”

Jack was relieved that Fontaine had agreed to using his Atlas voice again when talking to him over the radio.

“Ya’ know what you’re lookin’ for. According to my sources, Augustus Sinclair should be hidin’ somewhere here. You only need to find him and bring him back to me, alive. I count on ya, boyo.”

It took Jack a few seconds before he finally made a move. He had no idea how this Sinclair person looked like, though he believed that finding him, if he really was here, shouldn’t be a huge challenge.

He reloaded his machine gun before he finally left the train station of the Atlantic Express to head for the entrance to Ryan Amusements.

As expected, he wasn’t alone. Already after the first door, two splicers attacked him. Both were only armed with crowbars and the like. He dodged the first one, a woman, and froze the second at the same time. While the male splicer wasn’t able to move, he turned around and shot one precise bullet in the crazy woman’s head. Then he spun around again and smashed the full weight of his machine gun against the frozen figure of the other splicer, who shattered into a thousand pieces due to Jack’s enormous strength.

Afterwards he checked the room for potential loot before he made his way to the entrance of the so-called amusement park. There Jack realized that the doors were securely locked.

“You’ll need to get a ticket from somewhere, I’m afraid.” Atlas’s voice commented.

_Great another scavenger hunt._ Jack thought and turned around to inspect the room for an alternative route. To his right was a passage. He started walking towards it, his machine gun ready to shoot. A first splicer awaited him right behind the first hallway and aimed at him with a gun. But before the man could react, Jack had already electrocuted the man and wounded him fatally with his weapon. This next room seemed to be a special area for the employees who had once worked here. He saw different lockers and desks, but nothing really useful. Five minutes and three splicers later he reached a small room further in the back where he actually found a ticket for the amusement park.

_I hope this will work._ He returned to the park entrance. He held still for a minute trying to imagine how everything might have looked before it had been destroyed by Rapture’s Civil war. What struck him the most was the remains of a large clock which had collapsed from the ceiling right in the middle of the entrance hall.

He eventually averted his gaze from it. The ticket worked and he could continue his journey. Suddenly the radio on his belt came to life again.

“Welcome to the Rapture Memorial Museum. Here you’ll learn everything about daddy’s big dream. If ya need a recommendation. Go to the “Journey to the Surface”. A must see for every resident of Rapture.” Atlas sounded a bit too smug for Jack’s taste, but he decided to ignore him altogether. It’s not like they had spoken a lot before over the radio.

Instead, he slowly entered the big main hall of the area. It had two stories and to his left and right he could see different audio-visual exhibits. A few of them seemed to work whereas others had been completely destroyed. Now, he also saw that this part of Ryan Amusements connected all the other areas. There was the Hall of the Future, the El Dorado Lounge, a gift shop and the before mentioned Journey to the surface.

At the moment, it was uncommonly quiet which made his senses go on high alert. There could always be a next enemy around the corner. The good thing about splicers was that most of them were making noises of some sort, most of them babbling weird stuff. For now, Jack was also glad that he couldn’t hear the voice of a little sister or the loud stomping sound of one of their Big Daddys.

First, he checked out the El Dorado Lounge which turned out to be a small bar and café. It had also a small stage and might had been a nice place once to enjoy a break during a visit of the park. Now, it was only a depressing and lonely place and the only _guests_ he encountered were two crazy Lead Head splicers who didn’t pose a real threat to him. This Sinclair was not here, and Jack also didn’t find any secret spots where one could hide.

Thus, he left the place again and checked the gift shop which was equally successful. Disappointed he returned to the main hall and went to the right where the Hall of the Future was located. It turned out to be an exhibition hall for the newest plasmids. There was also the opportunity to test them here which Jack did just for fun.

The most prominent presented plasmids were _Incinerate_ and _Winter Blast_ which he both possessed. Except for the two Gatherer’s Gardens the only useful thing he found here was ammunition for his machine gun which he took with him. One real threat in this area came from a turret which he easily hacked before it had the chance to shoot him. Jack was thankful for the few extra seconds he had because of his DNA. Fontaine was right. This was useful and had saved his life more than once.

However, here was also no trace of the man he wanted to find so he eventually went for the last area: The Journey to the surface. The first thing that greeted him here was a replica of Andrew Ryan sitting at his desk. There was a red button in front of the exhibition, but Jack was not in the mood to listen to what the replica Ryan had to say. However, he lingered a few seconds in front of it and finally spotted a golf club in the corner of the replicated office.

Images of Andrew Ryan, blood stained and a broken golf club crushing through his shoulder blade appeared in front of Jack’s inner eyes and before the images would consume his mind completely, he decided to leave this exhibition behind.

The Journey to the Surface was clearly the main attraction of the park. The ride through this exhibition presented an imaginary ascension to the surface and showed all the horrors of the world topside for everyone who wished to leave Rapture. It clearly felt like a journey to a world full of injustice and dread which was somehow ironic regarding the current state of Rapture now, that added additionally to the exhibition’s gloomy appearance. Besides different scenarios being shown about the government’s injustices on the surface there were also more replicas of Andrew Ryan telling the visitor everything about evil of the parasite. 

“If I would bet, I’d choose this place. There’re plenty of hideouts to sneak into. He has to be here.” Atlas voice burst through the silence. Jack thought the same.

He reloaded his gun. On his way through the creepy ride he encountered more splicers than before making it clear for Sinclair that he was here, if the man was close. Eventually, he also heard the loud stomping of a Big Daddy.

_Great only one wrong ricochet shot, and I have a real problem_. Jack mused while he gave himself another shot of Eve. He made a large step, so he didn’t boot the dead splicer to his feet. For now, there was only the far away trampling of the Big Daddy, but there was also something else. Jack heard some light steps trying to sneak their way away from where he was.

As soft footed as he could manage, he tried to follow the distant steps and was finally rewarded when he turned around the next corner and saw a man. This had to be him, because this man was obviously not spliced which was proof enough for Jack.

“Stop.” He said in a firm voice. The man turned around and smiled. He wore a white shirt with a red tie and black suspenders. Around his neck hung some glasses. His black hair was gelled.

“Lower that gun or somebody might get shot, sport.” He said in a casual voice.

“Are you Augustus Sinclair?” Jack asked, his machine gun still pointing at the man.

“The one and only.” He replied. Sinclair was way to nonchalant for Jack’s taste. “And who are you? I think I haven’t seen you here before.”

“My name’s Jack. I need you to come with me.” He simply replied and hoped that Sinclair would play along. But of course, he didn’t.

“Go with you? Why should I? You know nowadays life in Rapture is not what is used to be. I can’t just go with any stranger who tells me to. You know the real threat are not the lunatic splicers, but the people who are still in their right mind, sport.” Sinclair lectured him. Jack frowned.

“My…” he hesitated. “My friend wants to meet you.” He finally settled on.

“And who is that friend? I’m not sure if anybody here in Rapture can still be your friend.” Silently Jack agreed with him. For a second, he thought about his answer. He decided to hide the true identity of his “friend”. As far as Jack was informed Frank Fontaine was officially still dead.

“It’s Atlas. I guess you’ve heard of him before.” Jack thus said. This changed everything.

“Atlas.” He said thoughtfully. “I’m intrigued. I actually wanted to meet him for a long time. Show the way.” For a moment Jack was taken by surprise. This had been way too easy. Apparently, his face showed exact that because he heard Sinclair laugh.

“What’s wrong. Did you expect a fight, or what? I guess it’s your lucky day”

Jack had two options. He could either accept the offer and just take him back to Atlas which would maintain the friendly façade of his business partner or he could knock out Sinclair here and now and bring him back unconscious but alive.

Choosing the first option he said. “This way.” Jack didn’t know what Fontaine wanted from this man but avoiding any conflict from the beginning seemed the wiser choice for him for Sinclair’s sake.

*-----*

Everything was going according to plan. Fontaine was on his way to Tenenbaum’s room as he mused about his latest success. Just a few minutes ago, he had witnessed over the radio that Jack had successfully found Sinclair and even better the man was willing to come to him - well Atlas - out of his own free will. Maybe if he played his cards right, there would be no need to let his façade drop in front of Sinclair and he would get another important ally in his newest mission. It would make things a lot easier, although Fontaine didn’t mind playing the bad guy occasionally, especially, as it had worked perfectly back in the day.

However, meeting with Augustus Sinclair was like gambling, you could never say how the outcome would be. In Fontaine’s eyes, it just made it all more intriguing. Like he had mentioned to the Kraut before. Once in a while it was nice to talk to a normal person whose mind wasn’t clouded by the evil mixtures of Adam.

And that was the simple reason why he once again was on his way to his former employee. Another one was to tell her how willingly Jack had accepted his offer and he just needed to let her know about it. 

Eventually, he arrived at the small entrance to her room and sent the guard away before he entered. Brigit Tenenbaum sat at a small desk, a glass of wine in front of her. Fontaine had permitted her that much. She didn’t even turn around to greet him.

“Oh, I see you already have the right drink to celebrate my latest triumph.” He began and took the seat next to her. Two glaring eyes found his which only made him grin wider.

“Don’t give me that look, Kraut. I’ve got some good news for you.”

“I think we have different opinions about good news, Frank.” She finally said. Fontaine leaned back in his chair.

“Well, I know your opinion had been slightly different to mine lately. Anyway, Jack finally remembered who I really am. Isn’t that what you wanted?”

For a second her face lit up, but then the happy expression totally faded. “I guess, if you tell me so casually like this there is a catch somewhere.” She said, still remaining her almost indifferent façade.

“I don’t know if I would call it a catch, but you’re right. It’s not what _you_ hoped for. Don’t get me wrong. The kid was completely pissed off and wanted to kill me but in the end, he realized that there’s no way he could hurt me.” He made a pause to let his little speech sink in.

“So what? You now control him with your nasty little phrase?” Tenenbaum replied calmly.

“As long as Jack behaves, that won’t be necessary. We have an agreement.” Fontaine said, not going further into detail.

_C’mon Kraut. Don’t play stupid. You know what I’m talking about._ Fontaine gave her a knowing look. Outwardly, Tenenbaum’s poker face was not bad, but he knew that she was thinking about what he had implied. She was definitely pondering about if what he said was true or not. She still wanted to believe that Jack wouldn’t stoop so low. In her eyes, Jack was the hero who would finally come and free this city from every scum and accepting that he wouldn’t was the final defeat.

“Don’t play cool. You simply have to accept the fact that _your savior,_ or whatever you believe Jack to be, is just like a stupid child. Give him what he wants, and he’ll do whatever I want.” To his surprise Tenenbaum still seemed to hold her emotions inside. Instead, she came up with something he didn’t see coming.

“The more you talk about Jack becoming so infatuated with you, or Atlas, the more I wonder about if you Frank have also developed a soft spot for him. It’s not like you had any affairs with men before, so why him? Doesn’t the fact that he is male and you’re about to have sex with him, disgust you in the slightest? And if not, then here is my question: Why Frank? Doesn’t that give him power over you too?”

For a moment nobody said a word. It didn’t happen that often that Frank Fontaine was at a loss for words. It was not like he was shocked about anything she had said, in truth he was impressed about her cold and logical analysis of the situation and how she tried to turn his own plan against him, how she tried to unnerve him.

It was true, he had never had a sexual affair with a man before and a few years back he would not have thought of it. It seemed unnatural to him; however, Rapture had definitely changed the way he judged different things and being intimate with a man didn’t seem to be as weird to him as before. Indeed, since he had considered to let this happen between him and Jack, he had seen a totally different approach to it. Men had always been regarded as the stronger sex and therefore dominating a woman in the bedroom had always seemed natural to him. And now with the perspective of a man, also a physically strong man like Jack, who graved to be in the position in which commonly a woman was, was something he needed to experience.

“Nice try, Kraut. But you’re totally wrong about me. This future agreement I have with the kid, serves nothing more than to make him do what I want. And don’t get the wrong impression about the two of us being intimate. He will take your position and nothing else.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh I just love writing these conversation between Fontaine and Tenenbaum xD and this is also the one I like the most out of all the ones I've written ^^ Please let me know what you think. Ok that's it for today. Kudos to all of my readers. You are the best!


	8. Reward

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What can I say except....It's time for Jack's reward....

Fontaine was back in his office. In the official one this time. It was a lot smaller than the one in his suite, simply because he didn’t want the people who visited him here to get the wrong impression. As Sinclair was going to see Atlas and not Fontaine, the choice had been obvious.

The way back from Ryan Amusements to Olympus Heights would take a while, but he was certain that both men would be here soon. Jack knew what to do when he would arrive at the bathysphere station. Fontaine had given him a map and had shown him the room where he would wait for Sinclair. After delivering him he would get to his room and wait for new orders.

Half an hour later Sinclair enteredhis office and Fontaine just got a glimpse of Jack who was already heading back to his room, waiting for him to fulfil his promise.

“Who… is… Atlas?” Sinclair stated dramatically, emphasizing every single word.

“Excuse me?” Fontaine replied in his Atlas tone, playing dumb.

“You know I’ve seen the posters all around. ‘Who is Atlas?’ And you know what? I’ve been asking myself the same question. And that’s why I’m here. Who are you?”

Fontaine had seen something like this coming, but he was not intending on getting provoked by this man. Now, that he had settled on playing nice, he was not in the mood for a change of plans.

“Stupid question, isn’ it? I’m Atlas. Period. Isn’ it more interesting to learn about you Augustus Sinclair? I’ve heard a lot about ya’.” Fontaine countered.

Sinclair took a few steps forward and eventually had a seat. “Nah, I’m boring. I want to learn more about the man who finally achieved his goal and got rid of Andrew Ryan. You know news like this spread like wildfire, sport.”

“Ryan knew what he was up against and in the end he lost. Rapture belongs to everyone not just to the profitin’, which ya’ count yourself to Sinclair, am I right?” Fontaine said directly but still friendly.

Sinclair sighed. “Well, you know these days, nobody is really profiting from anything anymore since Rapture got flushed down the toilet. Ryan’s big dream crushed just like this.” He snapped with his fingers. “However, isn’t that also your fault, Atlas?”

They stared at each other for a few seconds before Fontaine could reply.

“Well, ya’ know a Civil War can never be fought without collateral damage, be it people or this junkyard of a city we’re livin’ in.”

Sinclair laughed. “And how do you feel now, sport? Was it worth it?”

“It was definitely worth it. But ya know I’m not finished yet.” Fontaine leaned in with his elbows on the desk and folded his hands as if he was about to reveal something big. Sinclair looked confused for a second before he also joined.

“Ambitious, aren’t we?” He hesitated and let the statement sink in before he continued. “Let me take a guess. Sofia Lamb is the next one on your list.”

Fontaine smiled. He hadn’t expected less from Augustus Sinclair. That man was clever. He had practically worked with him before when he had sold prisoners from Persephone to Fontaine Futuristics and if there was a profit in it for him, he was on board.

“Yes, you’re right. She’s the next on my agenda.”

“But isn’t she helping people here in Rapture, I mean especially the poor ones?” Sinclair tried to argue.

“If you mean manipulatin’ them into doin’ what she thinks is best for them, then yes.” Fontaine answered.

Sinclair grinned. “But isn’t that what you do as well, sport?” They glared at each other and for a moment Fontaine had the feeling that the man could see right through him.

_Don’t fall for it. He is just trying to unsettle you and make you do something stupid._ He reminded himself.

“Unlike Lamb, I’m no shrink, who has the skills to manipulate people. I’m just a normal workin’ man who’s sick of the high‘n mighty here in Rapture. They all think they’re better or wiser or whatever. I don’ care. They need to go and stop playin’ with us like we’re some stupid chess pieces.” Fontaine said angrily, but obviously convincingly enough. Sinclair leaned back in his chair, relaxing again, his belligerent aura disappearing.

“Good speech, sport. I get why people trust you. And you’re right. I have firsthand experience how this Lamb woman turns anyone against you. So, if I need to choose between the two of you, I’ll help you.” He offered his right hand and Fontaine took it.

“You won’t regret it, fella. Now tell me, do ya’ know where she is hidin’? I know she had been imprisoned in Persephone, but I’m afraid that’s all I know. Me focus was more on Andrew Ryan than anyone else. Priorities, you know.” Fontaine realized again how fixated he had been on hunting down Ryan. This was of course mostly owed to the fact that Ryan and himself had been fighting against each other since Fontaine managed to sneak his way into Rapture twelve years ago. It was more personal and additionally a great satisfaction to kill this man. 

Sinclair rubbed his head and laughed awkwardly. “Well yes, she was my prisoner and unfortunately I let her do her sessions inside Persephone. Initially, I thought it would calm down the masses there, but she turned them all against me, especially this wannabe priest Simon Wales. I don’t know what happened to Lamb after I had to flee from Persephone, but chances are high that she’s left the place now that Ryan is dead. So, I guess finding Simon Wales is your best option. He has been preaching a lot in Siren Alley lately. I would start looking there.” Sinclair concluded.

“Thanks a lot. I knew you would be a valuable partner in this. Welcome on board.”

*-----*

As soon as Jack had returned to his room, he desperately wanted to change his clothes and wash himself. Being back in the field again made him realize how filthy Rapture was and fighting multiple splicers had also added a nice mix of blood to it.

After he had undressed, he checked his body for any injuries, but the ones he found were nothing to speak of. One reason for that was of course the Adam in his body which sped up all the natural healing processes, however, he knew that he was good in what he was doing and one part of him wanted Atlas to be proud of him. Unfortunately, the last time he had been complimented about his skills was from Fontaine and that didn’t count and only made him angry. 

Jack sometimes wondered how he still managed to see Atlas as an independent person even though he knew the truth. He tried to remind himself constantly that Atlas was all fake and that he would never be real, but there was this other part in him that just wouldn’t give up on the person who he used to know.

Maybe it was his own protector instinct still trying to hide him from the terrible truth or at least make it easier for him to live with it. All that Jack knew was that if Fontaine changed his personality to Atlas, the younger man was able to believe it despite the truth and that was all that counted right now.

He had accomplished Fontaine’s first mission and was waiting for his reward. The only thing that had kept him going these last few hours. He eventually left the bathroom and put on some fresh clothes before he made himself comfortable.

A knock on the door made him jump. It had only been like two hours since he had returned with Sinclair, but Jack knew that there was a high probability that the person waiting outside was Fontaine.

He rose from the bed, took a few steps to the door and opened it. His assumption had of course been correct, however, then he heard a pleasant surprise.

“Hey, boyo. What d’ya think? Do you want to come over to me place and we drink to our latest success?”

It was Atlas’s voice and Jack felt a pleasant shiver all over his body. He agreed and after a short walk they entered an almost fancy looking elevator which brought them upstairs to a nice-looking suite.

“Home sweet home. Have a seat. I’ll get us some drinks to ease up a bit.” Atlas said joyously. Jack looked around and saw two not too bad looking armchairs. He sat down in one of them and waited for Atlas to return with the drinks. It didn’t take him long and eventually both men held a bottle of beer in hand.

“Cheers, boyo.” Atlas said and they clinked the bottles. Jack had a big sip and almost spilled something. _Okay, I’m nervous_ , he concluded. His whole body felt unfamiliarly hot and he had no idea where the evening would lead to. Well, he had a vague idea after he had agreed to Fontaine’s deal and that day, he had been much braver. However, now that the day had come, he couldn’t help it but be tense. Rationally, he knew that he had never made any sexual experiences before but in truth he didn’t feel that way. Jack didn’t know why this was the case, after all he never had a real childhood or adolescent life.

_The best will be to shut down my brain and just go with the flow._ He thought and stopped thinking about why things were the way they were.

“So how did your talk with Sinclair go? Everything’s to your entire satisfaction?” Jack started a conversation. Atlas smiled.

“Oh yes. I’m very pleased. But well I’ve never doubted my Ace in the Hole would fail me.” He winked at him.

“Ace in the Hole? Are you talking about Sinclair?” Jack was confused. Atlas had another sip before he leaned in and said.

“Silly, I’m talking about you, you’re me Ace in the Hole. You haven’t failed me, and I still can’t believe how easy ya’ make look everythin’ you do.”

Jack was close to blushing. There it was. The long-awaited compliment from Atlas. He didn’t know what to say. Atlas’s face was already invading his personal space and Jack just stared into those mesmerizing blue eyes. A quite clonk made the younger realize that the other had put his bottle down on the floor.

“I …I…” Jack stammered, still at a lack of words. He just wanted the other man to finish what he had started. He didn’t want to talk. He just wanted to feel those lips on his own. To devour every bit of the man in front of him and forget about everything else straining him. Atlas smiled, almost grinned and grabbed Jack’s face with both hands before he pulled him into a kiss.

Automatically, Jacks hands reached down to dispose him of his own bottle as it was only in the way. Then he grabbed Atlas by his suspenders and tried to get them even closer while simultaneously opening his mouth to deepen their kiss. The hot tongue of the other slid over his own and a pleasant shiver starting from his neck found its way down to his crotch.

A few seconds later they broke their kiss and stared at each other. When Jack looked at Atlas’s face, he could see the lustful expression all over his face. Even though he knew it was most likely all fake, in this moment he just wanted to believe it was genuine.

“Let’s go to me bedroom.” Atlas whispered seductively. Jack just nodded and followed the brown-haired man into another room with a huge king size bed. In front of it they halted, and Jack pulled Atlas into another passionate kiss. Greedily, he pressed his body against his lover’s. He could feel the strong and firm body of Atlas beneath all the clothes. Suddenly, he felt a firm hand grabbing his hair and his head was fitfully pulled back. The other man held him in this position and spread kisses all over his throat. Atlas’s other hand was on Jack’s back pressing their lower bodies together. Another sensual shudder took hold of Jack when he felt his already hard cock rubbing against Atlas’s which was no less hard.

A deep moan escaped him when the friction was slowly increasing. There was no time to wonder why the man seemed so confident about all this despite the fact that this had to be his first time with a man too.

Eventually, Atlas started to undress Jack and helped him to get rid of his jumper and shirt. Jack reciprocated the favor. First, he pushed the suspenders from his shoulders and slowly opened the buttons of the other’s shirt. It took him only three buttons before he lost his patience. Thus, he just grabbed the fabric and pulled at it, so that he could finally reveal the muscled torso. He took himself a moment to have a better look at the man. Besides the defined shape, he also had some hair leading to his crotch and some on his chest.

“Like what you see?” Atlas asked, his voice sounding surprisingly husky. Jack lifted his head and gave the other a smug look. “Not bad for a man who’s always sitting around and giving orders.” He challenged him. Atlas grinned. “Because I know what’s best for you.” He purred, his smile being almost out of character, but Jack couldn’t care less right now. He decided to play along.

“Go on. Enlighten me.” He challenged the other man.

“Well then. Get down on your knees, would you kindly.”

Jack could feel this intense urge to obey. He wasn’t sure if Atlas had intentionally used the phrase or if it was by accident. Technically, using it was against their deal, but Jack was already too deeply involved in this to stop now.

Willingly he went on his knees and before Atlas could add something, the younger started opening the other man’s pants. He was totally acting on instincts now, and just hoped he was doing things right. When he finally freed the throbbing length from its prison, he took it into his hand and slowly rubbed it.

His action was rewarded with a deep moan, a sound he wanted to hear more often now that he had got a taste of it. Again, he felt Atlas’s hand pulling at his hair while he increased the pace of his movements. Slowly, his head was pushed towards Atlas’s cock until Jack realized what the other man wanted from him.

When his lips and his hot tongue met the erected length, eventually, he heard another moan echoing through the room. This was enough stimulus for Jack to explore this more. With his hand he embraced the base of the cock while his tongue licked one way from the man’s testicles up to his tip before he tried to suck on it properly. At first it was a very uncomfortable thing to do, but after a few attempts, he had the hang of it. Now, he was moving his head up and down on the hot length, supported by his hand. The other was getting hold of Atlas’s hip to stabilize him. Sometimes he could feel the hand on his head pushing him deeper and deeper, the longer he sucked on the throbbing cock.

Then suddenly his head was forcefully pulled backwards. “Stop it. I don’ want this to end yet.” Atlas gasping voice said. Jack stood up and looked at the other man’s face. His hair was disheveled and the look in his eyes was one of a predator looking at his prey. Jack gulped. Normally, he would never succumb to this man, to the real man behind this façade. But for him, for Atlas, he would do it. That was why he didn’t complain when the other grabbed him by the shoulders and pushed him backwards on the bedsheets.

*-----*

Fontaine couldn’t believe it. He stared into two greedy eyes. The eyes of Jack who laid on his bed willing to give himself to the man. The sight was intoxicating to say the least. He had not once wasted another thought about having sex with a man. Instead he let himself just be driven by his sexual needs, the thought of dominating Jack and thus further proving what kind of relationship they had.

Fontaine was the one in control and Jack would do whatever he pleased. He needed to make this experience unforgettable for the kid, so that Jack might eventually forget about his hatred for him. If he needed Atlas for it, so be it. However, Fontaine had the feeling that the further this went the less Jack bothered about his behavior. He couldn’t believe that he had got away with his ‘would you kindly’ so easily. It had just slipped his tongue, but when he had realized that Jack didn’t care, he had known that Jack was already past the point of no return.

“Don’t move.” He said to Jack and went to the dresser next to the bed. He checked one of the drawers and found what he was looking for. With a bottle of olive oil in hand, he returned to his previous spot.

“We’ll need this, trust me, boyo.” He answered, when he saw Jack’s confused look. 

He put the bottle next to the man and eventually climbed onto him. Unlike Fontaine, Jack was still in his pants, which were the next things to leave the bed. As the younger one was finally naked, he inspected his body more closely. He had broad shoulders and a ripped abdomen, which didn’t surprise Fontaine. He had less hair than he had expected and what he could see in his lower regions was no less impressive.

Never leaving Jack’s eyes, he leaned down again and captured the other’s mouth with his own. While he did that their bodies were now tightly pressed together and Fontaine felt the thick and wanting cock of Jack rubbing against his own. Eventually, he broke the greedy kiss and started exploring Jack’s body with his mouth, making the other man shudder under his touches.

From his collarbones, over his chest down to his abdomen he finally reached Jack’s crotch. However, then he suddenly stopped and searched for Jack’s eyes again. When their glances met, Fontaine reached for the bottle of olive oil. He opened it and poured some on his fingers, not caring about spilling it all over the sheets as he did so.

“You still want this?” He asked. He had reached a point where it was hard to act like Atlas. In that moment it would have been easier to be himself, but he didn’t want to lose this kind of deal they had right now. Jack was easier to handle if he obeyed willingly.

“Yes, do it, I trust you.” Jack said, his voice sounding shallow.

Fontaine smiled. “Don’t worry, boyo. I’ll make sure you’ll like it.” He purred and then changed his position so he could lift Jack’s legs a bit to get better access to his backside. Still looking lustful into Jack’s beautiful sensually distorted face, he brought his fingers to his hole and slowly caressed it with his oily fingers. He repeated this movement a few times before he entered the man with one finger, slowly, but determined. When he did so, Jack let out a suppressed little groan.

Fontaine waited a few seconds before he started to move the finger inside. Impatient as he could be sometimes, he added a second one quickly after and earned another groan. It sounded like a mixture of pain and pleasure to his ears and he needed to suppress a devilish grin.

_Oh kid, I want to make you scream for me. You will get addicted to this and then I can make you do whatever I want without even forcing you._

He pushed his fingers deep inside and as he hit a certain spot, Jack screamed out in pleasure.

“Oh shit, that’s it!” He said, his breathing getting faster. Fontaine tried to repeat the same again and moved his fingers in and out, trying to hit that sweet spot for Jack.

“Do ya’ think you can take more?” Fontaine asked seductively. He wanted to stroke himself so bad right now, but he wanted to save everything for that one moment. For that moment in which he would fully dominate this man, make him squeal beneath him in pleasure.

Jack just nodded while Fontaine prepared his own length with olive oil. Then he positioned himself in front of his entrance and slowly pushed his cock inside. It was not as easy as what he was used to with women, but when the squeezing heat embraced his length, he couldn’t hold back the deep, loud moan escaping his mouth.

Fontaine waited a bit to let Jack get used to the new situation. He grabbed one of his legs and put it over his shoulder to get a better angle. His other hand got hold of Jack’s cock and when he did his first thrust, he also started pleasuring the length with his hand to intensify the experience for the other.

Now, was the time when he decided he couldn’t hold back any longer and so he started pushing deep inside of the younger man in a rhythmic fashion, soon finding his sweet spot again.

“Yes..ah…ah…Atlas.” Jack mumbled between his moans. Fontaine leaned forward, resting both arms next to Jack’s head and pulling him back into a kiss, silencing his sounds like this. The kiss was messy, and a trace of saliva connected their mouths when the older withdrew to a more upright position.

When he grabbed Jack’s cock again and continued what he had started before, he knew that Jack was close.

Thrusting even harder and deeper with each move and jerking him off simultaneously brought the younger finally over the edge. As he did so, Fontaine could feel Jack’s inner walls tightening around him even more.

“Oh my god, kid.” He groaned out load, forgetting about Atlas for good.

Semen was spread all over Jack’s belly, and Fontaine used both hands now to steady himself and pushed one last time inside before he climaxed as well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this chapter ;-) Will this experience change Jack or Fontaine? Well, let's find out soon ^^ Stay tuned =D


	9. Routine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't believe that this story has already 500+ hits *.* I've never imagined that so many people would read this so thank you again. Thanks to everyone who is already here from the beginnng but also to everyone else who joined later. You rock!

The next day when Jack eventually woke from his sleep, he felt more relaxed than ever before. Besides the small pain he still felt in places he never felt before, he had the feeling that this morning he was a new person.

His thoughts wandered back to last evening when Fontaine had fulfilled his part of the deal, something Jack had still doubted he would do after everything. However, he was glad the man had held his end of the bargain. Jack could still feel the endorphins from last night in his body. Of course, it had not all been pleasant, but the pain was something he could work with. He had endured much worse when fighting with Big Daddies and the Adam in his blood system would help him heal much quicker than a normal human being as well.

Also, Jack couldn’t care less about the pain when this was the only thing he had to cope with when all the other things Atlas had made him feel were so amazing.

_Fontaine!_ His mind corrected him. Yes, of course. Atlas was not real and still he had felt like he had spent this special moment with his friend and not with his enemy. However, Jack knew that Fontaine had lost himself so much in the moment that his Atlas façade had dropped, especially in the end and the fact that Jack had not even cared, scared him a bit.

He excused himself with the fact, that he didn’t mind because it had only been for a moment and also that “would you kindly” had been used was something he blamed himself for. He had let himself be played with again, but as long as he thought about Atlas being the one using him, the thought was easier to bear.

_Holy shit! I’m one messed up idiot._ Jack scolded himself and got up from the bed. However, there was one silver lining. Fontaine obviously had enjoyed himself at least as much as Jack had. If everything he did yesterday was just fake, then he was really good in acting. But losing control over his Atlas act could only mean he had himself got dragged in by this moment just as much as his self-proclaimed pet or whatever he might call him behind closed doors.

Jack smiled to himself and stretched his arms and legs. A weird thought crossed his mind. Could Fontaine maybe be changed for the better? Was there something inside him that would make him eventually forget about his evil plans?

Jack knew all these thoughts were naïve and childish, but something he could hold on to and that gave him a least a little bit of hope that maybe one day they would really be partners and that both of them could change for the bigger good.

_Ridiculous! Don’t try to fool yourself. He will never change._ His inner voice criticized him once again. Jack shook his head as if he could shoo away this inner turmoil for good. It was useless to think about everything. There was nothing he could do at the moment except for going along with what they had agreed on. That meant he needed to get ready. There was another task for him to be done and therefore he needed to be prepared.

He went to the bathroom and after his quick washing routine he returned to his room to have something to eat. After he was finished with everything, he grabbed the radio from the dresser and turned it on. He pushed the button before he spoke.

“I’m ready.”

*-----*

After the next days, everything became a routine. After all the ups and downs, Jack finally felt like there was something he could call everyday life. Well, maybe it was not the most normal daily life, but it was the best he could have hoped for. His next trip into the heart of Rapture led him to Siren Alley.

Jack hadn’t seen something like this before. He wished he could have seen this place a few years earlier. The area was designed quite open and had two floors, where all kind of nice shops, bars and nightclubs used to be.

Jack spent a lot of time exploring the whole area which was even larger than it had first appeared. He had wished more than once that Rapture would still be alive and thriving and that he could come here to have a nice time out. To have a normal life and coming here for a beer after a hard day of work, letting off steam with friends, was only wishful thinking. Instead he fought with a more than unhealthy number of rogue splicers down here. Once or twice, he was really close to get fatally injured, but now that Fontaine seemed to trust him more, Jack had got some new and more effective weapons.

Now, he was the proud owner of a crossbow with not only normal steel tip bolts, but also incinerate ones. This was a really effective weapon and made fighting the more brutal splicers much easier.

Additionally, he brought a shotgun along, a weapon more suitable for closer combat. And if that wasn’t already enough, he still had his plasmids.

Jack’s mission was to find Father Simon Wales, as he called himself. Fontaine had assured him that this time, his target would not just come with him, that much was sure. However, he needed to catch the man alive, as his partner wanted to get some valuable information from him.

Jack could not have cared less. For him this was just another mission to accomplish, so that he would be rewarded in return. He had no personal issues with these people, Fontaine was looking for, and Jack had decided it was best not to get too much involved in this whole new conflict. It was just for the better. There were enough other complications in his new life. He didn’t need any more.

Before he found Simon Wales, he had encountered his brother first: Daniel Wales. One thing Jack learned on his trip to Siren Alley was, that the Wales brothers had been Rapture’s architects. But this had been so long ago and since the birth of Rapture many things had happened to those two men.

Jack had met Daniel in the Pink Pearl, a brothel here in Siren Alley, and had hoped that he would get the code to Pumping Station 5 from him as he believed Simon Wales to hide inside there. When he had found Daniel, he had directly realized that talking to the man was no use. He had seen Jack as an enemy as soon as he had laid eyes on him.

The fight between them was quick and ended deadly for the Wales brother. Luck was on Jack’s side, as he luckily found an audio diary from Daniel Wales himself, which contained the code to the Pumping Station: 1919.

When he entered the new area, he was surprised when he saw what Wales had made from it. It seemed as if the man had tried to build something like a church inside of the Pumping Station, something Andrew Ryan would have never approved of.

Jack couldn’t argue that he also wasn’t too keen on this arrangement here. Even more after he encountered Father Simon Wales and his faithful followers. 

Fighting off all the splicers and capturing their leader alive had sounded much easier before, however, after a hard and grueling fight, he could finally make his way back to Point Prometheus. Thanks to his Gene Tonics, carrying the grown man was an easier task than it seemed at first glance.

His trip had taken two days and when he finally returned to Point Prometheus and delivered his prisoner to Fontaine, he just wanted to change his clothes and wash off all the blood.

Before he could leave, Fontaine offered him to use the shower in his quarters, of course without anybody noticing. Jack smiled when hearing this and went straight to the man’s private suite. When arriving there, the younger man gave himself some time to relax and drank a glass from his whiskey.

Afterwards he entered the shower stall and when he felt the pleasant pressure from the almost warm water on his tired skin, he let out a happy groan. This was heaven. Sometimes Jack thought that he would never be able to associate something positive with water again in his life, but he was definitely wrong. As if that wasn’t already enough bless for one day, he suddenly jumped when he heard a voice from behind.

“Mind if I join you?”

A smile appeared on his face when he heard the Irish accent in his tone. He turned around and looked at the other already naked man. “I don’t mind at all.” Jack finally answered and let the man enter the shower stall.

“What about Simon Wales?” Jack asked. He could already feel the heat radiating from the other’s body. There was not much space in here.

When Fontaine smiled and said: “Wales can wait. If I can also be here with ya’”, Jack could again ignore the true identity of the man in front of him. Now it was only him and Atlas. So instead of answering, he pulled the man closer and kissed him greedily. No matter how exhausted he had felt before, now it was all gone.

Atlas didn’t hesitate for a second and reciprocated his endeavor. He took the younger man into a tight embrace and pressed their wet bodies closer together. Jack could feel his half-hardened cock rubbing Atlas’s which made him shiver in anticipation. Today he felt much braver than last time. He grabbed the older man by his brown hair and ended their kiss by pulling his head back, gently. Then he kissed his face, feeling the rough stubbles on his chin before he found his way to Atlas’s ears. Without thinking about it, he nibbled at his earlobes and earned a satisfied moan.

Happily, Jack continued for a few seconds before he let go and looked the other in the eyes again.

“Atlas.” He said with a husky voice. “Talk to me, please.” It sounded ridiculous; he knew that. But what made Fontaine’s act to convincing was to a great amount owed to his voice acting. For Jack Atlas’s voice was the first thing he had heard, well the first friendly voice he had heard. It was something he linked to his first positive and friendly feelings about this man. It made it much easier for him to forget and to relive a time when he had still been unaware of the truth.

“It’s just you and me, boyo. I’ll make you forget about the other. As long as ya’ with me, everythin’s gonna’be just fine.” He whispered into Jack’s ear making him shiver. The younger had closed his eyes and got himself completely lost in the illusion. He could feel it deep inside that now he would do whatever the other told him, as long as it would make him happy. It was wrong and sick, but he couldn’t deny it.

“Tell me what to do, where to go next. I need your advice.” Jack said almost in a trance as if he wanted to go back to when things had been so easy. It was like another coping mechanism of him. As if he was protecting himself even in this new situation.

For a moment they remained in that tight embrace their heads next to each other before Atlas’s voice rang in his ears again and somehow Jack had suspected what the other would do now. He could only blame himself for that, he knew.

“Would you kindly turn around for me.”

Jack obeyed. His eyes were now facing one of the walls of the stall. He couldn’t move. Then he felt two hands grabbing his own before they were placed left and right next to his head on the wall. Atlas’s firm body pressed against his back and shameless kisses were spread all over his neck.

“Don’t move. Just relax.” He heard the other saying excitingly. Jack obeyed again.

When he heard Atlas opening a bottle, he knew it could only be the one with the liquid soap inside. It was a luxury product which he had never used before in his life and he was pretty sure that the way Atlas intended to use it was not its original purpose. Warm water was still raining down on them, when he suddenly felt a finger at his entrance.

With almost no preparation it was pushed inside, and he groaned at the sudden intrusion. However, this time was already feeling better than before. It was when the digit began to move deep inside and back out when a wave of pleasure overcame him. This didn’t go unnoticed by his older partner.

“Do you like that?” He asked, knowing already the answer of course. When Jack didn’t answer immediately, he added. “C’mon. Tell me, would you kindly?”

“It’s good.” Jack forcefully answered. Besides the fact that his conditioning made him answer his mind was additionally already somewhere else as well, so he couldn’t care less.

“Good? Well, then it’s not good enough yet.” Atlas chuckled and added another finger and increased his pace. And then he eventually hit that spot, Jack hoped the other would find again.

“Yes. There.” He said through gritted teeth. Why was this feeling so good? It wasn’t supposed to be that way, was it? A last sense of reason sparked inside of him, soon forgotten by the finger’s next push.

And then finally he felt something bigger trying to enter him. He prepared himself for the first jolt of pain to come and it did. However, as soon as the other pushed inside him a hand grabbed his cock and helped him overcome the pain by stimulating him there.

Jack took a deep breath and by the fourth or fifth thrust, he already felt the pain be replaced by pleasure. Hard and rough strokes hit him faster and faster with each move. The wall was slippery from the water and he needed some strength to hold onto it. Atlas’s hands were now grabbing both his hips and he was thrusting into him even harder now.

Jack didn’t mind. His thoughts were fogged with pleasure and all he could sense were his own moaning, Atlas’s heavy breathing and groans against his neck. Even without the physical touch on his cock, he knew that his climax was close. He had never thought that to be possible but then as this last push hit his spot so deep and hard, he came.

Fortunately for him, the older man soon followed him over the edge and then pulled out of him, ultimately. There was almost no time to regain his senses again as he was already turned around and pushed against the wall, now with his back. He stared right into the other’s face and for a moment he thought he saw something in it, something cunning and evil. But before he could process this realization, Atlas’s words allayed his suspiciousness.

“Looks like we need the shower even more than before.”

*-----*

Two days later, Fontaine finally got some valuable information from Simon Wales. What a disagreeable person this man was. Fontaine felt highly irritated. This stupid self-proclaimed priest really would sacrifice himself for his holy Sofia Lamb. Pathetic! He really believed in her and had not been willing to share any valuable information with him. As much as Fontaine had liked to kill this man, he knew it wouldn’t help him in his quest.

Thus, he had eventually decided to drop his nice and friendly Atlas façade. He had still been acting as the Irishman; however, this was a side of Atlas who was much closer to his true identity. A darker side of a man he had created in order to gain people’s trust. But Fontaine knew that there were certain people here in Rapture or anywhere else who would not react to him the way he wanted to and so sometimes, since he didn’t want everyone to know that he was Fontaine, he tried something different: He mixed his Atlas persona with parts of his true identity. The result was a man talking and looking like Atlas but sounding and behaving like Fontaine.

This was much easier to do than his original act. However, he couldn’t do that with Jack, even though it had already happened. And much worse, he also had completely forgotten about acting.

On Fontaine’s face appeared an evil smile when he thought about Jack and how willingly he had succumbed to him. A pleasant shiver spread over his whole skin when he recalled their last meetings. This whole issue about Jack being a man, had vanished the second he had heard the younger man groaning beneath him.

Jack had been so eager to be fucked by him, had let him use _would you kindly_ without ending their deal and had enjoyed to hand over all control to the man he was supposed to hate. How could Fontaine not be intoxicated by that?

Jack was an extraordinary human being, not only due to what had been done to him by Suchong and others. No, he was talented and strong. Strong enough to take on a Big Daddy all by himself. And this same man had for some unknown reason fallen in love with a person Fontaine had just made up. And the desire for this person was also much stronger than his own will to free himself from his mental conditioning. How could Fontaine not have used this for his advantage?

Jack truly was his Ace in the Hole. He could become the one person being totally loyal to him. One day he would forget about his naïve wish of Atlas being real and the “new Atlas” would be all he will need.

_Even if it takes years, kid. Your only future is by my side. And you’ll will accept that sooner or later._

His thoughts wandered back to Simon Wales. Fontaine couldn’t believe that it had taken him so long to get something useful out of this man. Even with some special treatment the man had been unpleasingly stubborn. He could not deny that he was impressed by his loyalty to this woman. It was something he would like to have too. People were mostly loyal to Fontaine because they feared him. He didn’t mind that at all but now as he might be able to change Jack into someone who would become loyal to him like that, he wanted to have it even more.

Grace Holloway. That was the name he had finally heard after hours of questioning. Grace Holloway, a former Jazz singer who had been blacklisted by Andrew Ryan because she had dared to sing critical songs about his administration. This was something that made Fontaine like her. But then she probably was also a loyal follower of Sofia Lamb and therefore maybe a valuable person for him with valuable information.

After a quick talk with Augustus Sinclair, he found out that she was probably still hiding in Sinclair’s Deluxe, his own hotel from which he had been kicked out by Grace and some other Lamb followers. Thus, Jack’s next field trip would be to Maintenance Junction 17, better known as Pauper’s Drop, how this part of Rapture had been named by its inhabitants.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I swear I never intended to write that shower scene ^^ but then it just wrote itself xD I wuld say sorry...not sorry ^^ Hope you guys enjoyed it ;-) See you next Sunday!


	10. Information

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Sunday ;-) Here we go with a new chapter and Jack on his next mission. Please enjoy!

When Jack arrived in Pauper’s Drop, he was disappointed. The sight of the main entrance of Maintenance Junction 17, which was hidden behind a wooden plank with the name Pauper’s drop written on it, was far from inviting.

The first thing that caught his attention was one of the posters on the wall. It was an advertisement for Dr. Lamb. This actually was the first time he could gather some information about this woman. For starters he didn’t even know that she was a psychiatrist and when he read the phrase: “Got the Rapture Blues?” He couldn’t help but smile.

 _Oh, the better question is who hasn’t?_ He thought. He read the rest of the poster. _Dissatisfied_ it said

next. Well, he couldn’t really agree with that one, even though he knew that he wasn’t completely satisfied with how his life went. He was still down here in Rapture and he knew that if he could choose, he would leave this place as fast as possible. But right now, it was not his decision to make. Did Fontaine want to leave Rapture behind? It had taken the man a lot of time to finally defeat his all-time rival Andrew Ryan, so Jack guessed that he would probably not leave any time soon, not before he would get rid of Lamb and her cult anyway.

Jack took a deep breath and looked down at his shortwave radio. He knew that today it would stay silent as Fontaine had told him, that he was busy elsewhere. Of course, none of his business. Was that not the perfect moment to flee?

His gaze returned to the poster and he read the last line: “Don’t know where to turn?” It was as if the poster was mocking him. Was the choice not easy? Every clear-thinking human being might think that the only logical choice was to run or to fight, however, Jack was already deeper involved than he wanted to admit. Staying and playing along was obviously the easier way than running away and finding a way to stay hidden from Fontaine. Jack was more than sure that even if he tried to run, the other would manage to get him before he could leave Rapture behind and then with his mental conditioning, he would be doomed to be a slave for real.

Additionally, Jack’s infatuation with Atlas was too strong for him to ignore. These moments he shared with this man were special to him and he felt like they were the only thing that kept him going right now. Thus, working for Fontaine meant to a small amount happiness and leaving him to fight would lead only to…? Jack couldn’t answer his own question. He had nowhere to return to, except Rapture.

Eventually he stopped thinking and focused on his mission. He had to get to the Sinclair’s Deluxe in order to find this woman Grace Holloway. Jack was more than happy that this time his mission was to gather information and not to kidnap someone. If Grace would be cooperative, he might not need to kill her, and he so desperately wanted her to be. He had enough blood on his hands already.

Pauper’s Drop was not too different to other locations when it came to lunatic splicers attacking him. Although, most of them were armed with firearms to Jack’s sorrow. It was almost impossible to venture through the area without getting hurt.

He reached the Fishbowl Diner in the first bigger hall he found. Besides the fact that Pauper’s Drop was a Maintenance area for the Atlantic Express, it looked more like a little town. Not a nice one but a town, nonetheless.

After he explored the area a bit further, he found out that he needed to go west if he wanted to go to the hotel. Usually, he would also check out everything, but Jack just wanted to get it over with, so after a short break and refilling his supplies he continued his way.

It took him only a few minutes before he stood in a broad hallway leading to the main building of the Sinclair’s Deluxe, but unfortunately the way was blocked by a huge pile of junk. Jack couldn’t tell if this was due to an unforeseen rumbling or if the people still living inside the hotel had built some kind of barricade. Either way he needed to find a solution, quickly.

Jack knew that he needed some grenades or more strength to clear the way. Suddenly he heard the heavy steps of a Big Daddy not far away.

 _Right on time._ Jack thought. He turned on his heels and followed the sound of the creature. The closer he came, the more he realized that the Big Daddy wasn’t alone. He also had a little sister with him. When he laid eyes on the huge tin man he smiled. It was a Bouncer – perfect. Jack took a deep breath before he snapped his fingers and set the Big Daddy on fire. As soon as the creature went up in smoke, it charged at him. Just one second before Jack would have been crushed like a fly, he used _electrobolt_ to stop it from killing him. Then he turned around and ran back to the blocked hallway.

Now, a very angry Big Daddy was chasing him, still keeping his little sister close by to protect her. After a short run, Jack finally arrived and positioned himself in front of the barricade. Timing was everything, now.

The creature appeared on the other side of the hallway. Its eyes glowing red, he let out a scream so terrifying and loud that Jack felt his body petrifying. He couldn’t move and the monster was about to bounce forward again in a deadly strike.

With all his willpower he finally managed to use _winterblast_ on the Big Daddy and he felt his heartbeat relax when he saw the motionless form of the creature. But he knew it wouldn’t take long to break and then there would not be a second chance. He was low on Eve and if he wanted to kill the Big Daddy after this, he would need all the bit he had left in his body to do so.

With a loud crack, the ice trapping the creature broke and almost simultaneously it charged forward. However, these few extra seconds had been enough for Jack to get prepared. Just in time, he jumped sideward and thus avoided being smashed. A triumphant feeling grew inside of him, not only because he was still alive but also when he turned around, he saw a big hole in the barricade. The creature had helped him just as he had presumed.

The adrenaline was pumping through his veins, supported by this intoxicating feeling of his success. He got his machine gun and loaded it with armor piercing ammunition. As he continued his fight and was slowly winning, he could hear the crying of the little sister close by. With every shot the tall creature came closer to its own death and the closer it was the louder the sister screamed.

When the red lights finally vanished, the small girl scrawled next to the filthy being and mourned for it.

Jack looked at the poor girl and took a step forward. He knew what to do. He had done it several times and he wouldn’t stop now. He had been given a choice to save these girls thanks to the woman who created them. In retrospect Jack realized that this had been one of the few moments in which he had actually made a decision himself and that was something very special to him, especially now.

He took the girl in his arms and put one hand on her head. She kicked him and tried to free herself of his grip, but he was too strong.

“No, no, no, no.” She screamed, however, after a few seconds she finally stopped and the glowing in her strange eyes disappeared. It was as if she was finally looking at him for the first time. Jack put her down on the floor.

“Thank you, mister.” She said and then quickly disappeared. Where would she go now? Jack didn’t know the answer and just hoped that the girls knew where to go and find shelter. What about this woman? What was her name again? Brigit Tenenbaum. How could he have forgotten? Where was she? Was she still alive? He decided to ask Atlas about her next time which would be wiser than asking Fontaine.

After defeating the big Daddy and freeing the little sister he continued his journey. Just when he arrived on the first floor, he heard a women’s voice addressing him over the speakers.

“Who are you, young man? And what do you want here?” Jack froze. He didn’t expect that somebody besides Fontaine was watching him.

Carefully, he lowered his weapon and raised his other hand to show that he didn’t come to fight, at least not if it was avoidable. “I want to speak with Grace Holloway. I don’t want to fight.” Jack said, feeling somehow stupid as he wasn’t sure if the woman who talked to him could actually hear his words.

A few seconds went by and Jack remained still before the answer came. “I am Grace Holloway, but I still don’t know who you are.”

“My name is Jack. I want to talk to you about Sofia Lamb.” He answered hoping that the woman would believe him.

The seconds ticked by as Jack once again waited for her to speak. If she didn’t answer he would need to take another path and he didn’t want that, especially since the woman seemed to be in her right mind and not spliced up.

“Come up to room 307 and leave your weapons outside, then we might talk.” She finished and Jack knew that he could go on. Everything was going according to plan. Now, he just needed to get some valuable information. Something that might be interesting or would help Fontaine to find Sofia Lamb. Jack didn’t really care what it was and just finding out something would be enough for him. Fontaine had not been really precise when he had asked Jack to gather information from that woman. That also meant that if Fontaine wanted to complain about his results, he should specify his commands.

Room 307 was on the third floor. On his way there he had encountered some splicers who thankfully didn’t attack him. It seemed as if Grace was some kind of leader to those people and had the power to give them orders. It didn’t surprise Jack that much. Andrew Ryan had been able to control splicers and Fontaine did the same.

There was no door to room 307. It was just an open entrance, but Jack was sure that Grace was hiding somewhere inside. Regardless of that, he left all his weapons behind in the large living room. Now, he was totally unarmed, because he had used all his eve in his fight with the Big Daddy and he had no syringes left right now. He didn’t feel vulnerable, though. He knew that he was stronger than normal human beings and he wasn’t afraid of Grace Holloway either.

Slowly, he strode through the room, when his gaze was turned to the left. There was a small room, so totally different that he couldn’t avert his eyes from it. The dominant color of the room was pink which was already weird enough. Jack hadn’t seen anything like this in Rapture before. There was a small bed on the right-hand side with blue bedsheets on it. On the left stood a small board with different numbers and letters on it which didn’t make any sense to Jack. Books were spread on the floor in front of the board and on the left-hand side were some book shelfs.

He entered the little room and saw something else on the back wall. There sat a teddy bear on the floor and next to it was something like a tape measure with a big purple butterfly on top. Next to it stood something on the wall: Eleanor – 7 years.

Jack sighed. This was obviously a child’s room. And the child’s name was Eleanor. The question was: Where was this child and more importantly was she still a child or had she been turned into something else?

Jack really wished for the first option, but from what he had experienced so far, he knew that chances were not very likely for her to be no little sister. He tried to push that thought away and left the room behind.

At the end of room 307 was a locked door. Grace had to be in it, so Jack carefully knocked. “I’m here, without any of my weapons.” He stated and then heard the door being unlocked.

“Come in, Jack.” He heard Grace’s voice.

Jack did as he was told and entered the small room. Grace was an older woman with dark skin. She wore some kind of yellow dress which she had combined with a yellow hat.

“Have a seat Jack and tell me what you want from me.” She started and sat down on her chair. Jack followed her example and took a seat. He thought about what to say and how to earn her trust.

“I’m looking for Sofia Lamb and rumors say that you could help me find her.” He began trying to smile. Grace didn’t reciprocate the gesture and just said: “Why do you want to find her, my boy? Who are you?”

Jack gulped. He had no idea how to start and so he decided to tell her the truth, well not exactly but parts of it anyway.

“I have been working for Fontaine, more or less voluntarily.” Jack made a pause. “Then after he died, I thought all my problems might be solved, but then it all just got worse and I just want a fresh start, I want something else. Then I heard of Sofia Lamb and her Rapture Family. I just thought I’ll give it a try. After working for Fontaine and always being in the crossfire between him and Andrew Ryan, Atlas wasn’t an option either. I want something different. I want a part in something bigger.”

Jack couldn’t believe he was such a good liar, because when he ended his little speech, Grace’s face became friendlier for the first time.

“You’re doing the right thing here. Andrew Ryan is dead. Everybody has heard the news and believe me when I say this Atlas is not what he pretends to be. His whole act is too good to be true. There’s only one person left in Rapture to guide us. Sofia Lamb.”

How close Grace was to the truth. Jack worked hard to remain his pokerface. Here he was spying for Fontaine or Atlas, depending on what would fit better. He didn’t know much about Sofia Lamb, but Grace’s talk made him once again think that he was working for the bad guy. Of course, Jack knew about Fontaine’s nature and that he obviously wasn’t a good guy, but was there even someone purely good left in this city? Jack highly doubted that. Rapture was more about surviving than living.

“I really want to believe that there is still someone left who will lead us in this dark hour. When I first came to Rapture, I was full of dreams and hopes, but reality hit me hard as soon as I lost my job and had to do the dirty work for a man like Fontaine.” Jack went on with his invented background story.

Grace gave him a warm smile. She really was the motherly type and he liked that. “Don’t lose hope. Sofia Lamb is here to guide us and change Rapture into something better, greater.”

“Who is Eleanor?” he suddenly asked, knowing that it had nothing to do with their previous conversation, but his curiosity took hold of him. Grace seemed to be surprised, so Jack explained himself. “I saw the room next door. I just assumed that it belonged to a girl named Eleanor, because the name was written on the wall. I’m just curious.”

The expression on the woman’s face suddenly changed. Her previous determined looked was replaced by a sad frown. “Eleanor is Sofia Lamb’s daughter. Before she had been taken away to be locked away, Sofia entrusted her to me, and I treated her like she was my own child.” Grace seemed to be lost in thought, but then she continued. “But then she was taken away from me and I couldn’t do anything to help her. I failed Sofia Lamb. I failed Eleanor and now she is…she is….” Jack had a vague idea what she had become. “I saw her one day, walking around with one of those creatures. Later I found out that she had been bonded with Subject Delta, one of the first Big Daddies. I feel so ashamed.”

Grace finally stopped talking. It seemed like she had hidden all of this deep inside of her and now that she had spilled the beans, she felt somehow relieved. Jack on the other side, had heard enough. The fact that Sofia Lamb had a daughter who was probably still out there in Rapture was more than he had hoped for.

“I’m sorry Jack. I don’t want to bother you with my sorrows. If you want to find Sofia, the only thing I can tell you is to go to Fontaine Futuristics. I’m not up to date with what’s going on since Andrew Ryan has been eliminated, but this much I can tell you. However, be warned that Sofia Lamb will not just let you in. You’ll need to prove that you’re one of us. Goodbye.”

Jack could see that Grace was done talking and so he nodded in approval and left the room without saying anything else. This had been more than successful, and he would have enough valuable information to tell Fontaine. He smiled, took his weapons and began his way back to Point Prometheus. 

*-----*

Fontaine was sitting behind his large desk. He held a glass of whiskey in his right hand and waited for Jack to return. He was quite sure that even without his supervision, the kid would do as he was told. Also, he knew that he was on his way back as some of his spies had seen him near the metro station of Apollo Square.

He was more than curious what news Jack would bring him today. After spending too much time with Simon Wales he hadn’t been too keen on questioning another one of Lamb’s loyal followers. Thus, giving Jack the choice to handle the next target personally and as he wished was just nice for a change. Fontaine didn’t care about how Jack would do it as long as he got results in the end.

A knock on the door interrupted his thoughts.

“Come in.” He said as Fontaine and Jack entered the room. “You look terrible. Do you want a drink, kid?” He asked and offered him the bottle. Fontaine could see that Jack slightly frowned because he had to deal with Fontaine and not his beloved Atlas. But Atlas was his reward and therefore he needed results first.

“No, thanks. I just want to get it over with and then sleep.” Jack began and took a seat in front of his desk.

“No need to be grumpy, kid. Just tell me you have some good info here and I let you leave as soon as that.” He snapped his fingers.

“There are basically two things.” Jack coughed before he continued. “It seems like Sofia Lamb is hiding in your old research facility. According to Grace Holloway she is somewhere in Fontaine Futuristics. Isn’t that ironic?” Jack put on a cocky smile. Fontaine ignored him. He wouldn’t get provoked by that. “Well that’s not too bad. That’s actually really good. At least now it’s a home match.” He grinned and had a sip of his whiskey. “But I know it’s never that easy. She is clever and she has a lot of influential friends. I need more if I want to beat her. C’mon kid. Give me something more…juicy. Something I can use against her.” Fontaine had straightened in his seat.

For a moment it seemed like Jack was hesitating. He opened his mouth to say something and closed it again. “You can’t hide anything from me. Tell me what you found out?”

“Lamb…she has a daughter.” Jack eventually said, looking anywhere but to Fontaine. “A daughter?!” The older man almost burst out. “Jackpot! That’s it! The daughter is the key. If I can get my hands on her, Lamb is as good as mine. All right Jack tell me everything you know, would you kindly.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for reading. I hope you liked it. I really tried to put in many details from the actual game into this chapter, like the poster in the beginning or Eleanor's room etc. I actually took pictures while I played it so I could make this as realistic as possible. Feedback is of course appreciated as always. Stay tuned!


	11. Nightmare

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Spoiler Warning! For those of you who haven't played Bioshock Infinite's DLC Burial at Sea and still want to play it without any spoiler should do this first before reading this chapter! Seriously guys, if you haven't played it yet...do it!! It's so good xD 
> 
> Okay, besides that there's nothing more to say than have fun ;-)

Jack was back in the darkness, however, this time he didn’t have this feeling of confusion or oppression. His mind was totally clear, and it almost did feel like it was real. It just felt like he had been transported to another place, since now slowly a surrounding became clearer. He was somewhere in Rapture, somewhere he definitely hadn’t been before. Besides one bright head light, the room was almost in the dark. Only the lights from Rapture’s skyscrapers lighting the rest. The first thing that captured Jack’s eyes was a woman sitting on a chair right opposite of the head light. She seemed only half conscious and looked rather affected. She had long black hair and heavy make-up. She wore a dirty, but white blouse combined with a black pencil skirt.

“Two weeks.” Jack almost jumped at the words and turned around. Next to the head light stood a man whose face he couldn’t make out because of the lighting. However, hearing the voice and only seeing the shape was everything Jack needed. It was Atlas.

“Uhh...what?” It was the woman who obviously didn’t know exactly what was going on. Just like Jack.

“You’ve been down two weeks, love. Feckin’ doctors. Better of hirin’ a million monkeys.” Atlas replied sounding quite irritated.

Jack was confused more than a little. This was obviously Frank Fontaine of course. The choice of words, how he spoke them and still it was the Atlas character he used. Why did he do that? It was so strange to see that Jack felt a tight grip embracing his heart.

The woman coughed before she spoke. “Our deal was to get you out of prison. What, did you expect me to win your war for you too?” Although, the woman was definitely not in the position to be a smartass, she decided to challenge the man she was talking to. Jack decided that he liked her.

Atlas who had been standing with his back to his prisoner finally turned around, a burning cigarette in hand.

“I’d tend to your own knitting if I were you. Now, darlin’…” He stepped out from the darkness so that Jack and the woman were able to see his face. He stopped in front of her. “Being that you were Suchong’s lab assistant and all. Why not tell me where me Ace in the Hole went to?”

“I don’t know what the Ace-“ The woman tried to say, but Atlas interrupted her.

“As I said. I’m no doctor. But that doesn’t mean I don’t find the field fascinatin’. I keep up on all the medical journals and the like.” Atlas continued talking as if he was merely telling some interesting story. While he did so he walked around her chair and positioned himself behind it.

In the meantime, Jack was highly bewildered. What the hell was going on here? Was this some kind of dream or was this happening for real? He had no idea who this woman was and what they were talking about. Well, the latter was not completely true. He had heard the term Ace in the Hole before, but he couldn’t tell when or in which context he had heard it. There was nothing he could do but watch this strange scenario in front of him and he had the bad feeling that he was about to witness something he wouldn’t like.

“I hope you have someone to help you with all the big words.” The woman’s voice was dripping with sass. She was either extremely brave or stupid.

Atlas just continued his talking totally unimpressed. Jack couldn’t help it but think of him as Atlas, because everything about him was so like the Irishman, however, Jack didn’t like the way he used his character right now. Goose bumps spread all over his arms when he heard the man talking, but this times it was not a good sign.

“You know what part a’ the brain free will comes from? Stubbornness? The prefrontal lobe.” He appeared back in front of her and pointed at his right eye to support his little speech. “Now, I think it’s fair to say: you’re a bit of a stubborn one, are ya’ not?”

Jack was petrified. He had no idea what Atlas’s intention was, but he didn’t like anything of what he had said so far.

The man now turned his back on the woman again and continued. “Man named Steinman taught me this. He’s a bit of a lunatic, but a fine surgeon.” At the mentioning of Steinman’s name all of Jack’s alarm bells went off. What the hell was Atlas going to do? He needed to stop him. However, Jack suddenly realized that he not only felt like petrified, but that he could indeed not move an inch. He was frozen in place, destined to witness what was about to come.

With horror in his eyes Jack looked at Atlas who had grabbed a little item from a table next to him, only to show it to him and the woman. It looked like an ice pick with some gradation marks etched onto the shaft. Jack had no idea what he would use this thing for but had a vague idea that it had something to do with what the man said next. “He calls this little trick a ‘transorbital lobotomy’.” While naming the procedure he held the spiky end of the tool in front of his eye. Jack gulped.

“Take hold of her lads.” He added in a commanding manner and Jack saw two men approaching the woman on the chair.

“You’re wasting your time.” She said still remarkably calm despite all that, Jack thought. But now that the two men were getting closer, he could see the fear shining in her eyes.

“Now. If you won’t remain still, I can’t be held responsible for what happens next.” Jack was outraged. This was not the man he used to know. Until now, he had still been able to see Atlas as an own individual, mostly of course because of Fontaine’s ability to act as the person Jack was so drawn to. But what he saw now, slowly changed everything. It was like looking into a mirror and with every second it got more cracks.

Atlas positioned his tool in front of the woman’s left eye and slowly placed the pick behind the eye socket. Jack could not only see but hear the woman was in pain, however, she still tried to remain calm herself.

“Here we go…You feel that? I’m moving…the pick…across your eyeball…oh! Still, now…and restin’ it on your skull. There’s about a bit over a quarter of an inch of bone between the pick and the prefrontal lobe. And that’s where this little fella comes in.” He showed her a little hammer which he held in his other hand.

“I don’t…ahh” she started again, but before she could finish, he hit the pick with the other tool and made her stop.

“Shhh…It was just a wee tap. But I don’t expect it’ll take more than a few of those to reach the meat. And then we might find you a bit less the mule. Where is me Ace in the Hole?” He spoke the last few words slowly but demanding.

Suddenly it dawned on Jack. Ace in the Hole, of course. Atlas had called him that before. This whole scenario was about him. However, this had to be in the past since it didn’t make any sense for Atlas to be asking for the Ace in the Hole otherwise. But how was that woman involved?

“I don’t know. All right?” She said with a strong and angry voice. Atlas was unimpressed and already started talking before she had finished.

“You know what else rests in the lobe? Creativity.” He hit the pick once again and the woman cried out.

“Individuality.” Another hit. “Personality.” And another. The woman groaned with pain, her breathing becoming heavier with every hit. “In short what makes you you. Ah...I’m just about through now. Last chance pet. Where…is…the Ace…in the Hole?” His voice became more menacing with every word he spoke, and Jack could feel how Atlas’s patience was slowly running short. Jack was surprised when he heard the woman laughing before she decided to answer to her torturer.

“Or what? What, you’ll put a hole in my head and take away my memories?” It seemed like Atlas was as surprised as Jack that his little procedure hadn’t worked on her yet. “You wanna’ make me forget all this? You wanna’ make me not care anymore? Go ahead. You’ll be doing me a favor.”

And then suddenly Atlas snapped. It was something Jack had never seen before. With an angry scream he yanked the pick out and turned away from her. “Agh. Bring the monster!” He barked then turned around and slapped her hard in the face.

Jack wanted to intervene but was still not able to move. What was Atlas talking about? His thoughts raced through his head.

The woman’s head hung to the side from the punch. Her almost unconscious form still observed her tormentor just like Jack. Suddenly Atlas’s voice had changed.

“You’re a regular hero, ain’tcha? Can’t risk rippin’ the only part a’ you that’s worth a damn. Well, there’s more than one way to fry an egg.” The man had obviously not only lost his patience but his acting skills too. Just for this few seconds Jack could hear the real voice of the man in front of him. However, as the same two men from before returned with a moving table with one crying little sister on it, he suddenly was back in character and focused himself on the little sister in front of him.

“Now, little one…Are you familiar with the term ‘transorbital lobotomy’?” The girl was tied to the table with four leather belts and tried desperately to fight against them. She screamed and was obviously extremely afraid, but Atlas didn’t care.

The expression on the woman’s face had immediately changed. Fear and despair dominated her features now. “No…please, let her go.” She said, begging for the first time. Atlas averted his gaze from the girl and pointed it back at the woman. “It’s a simple matter. All I need to do is insert this pick into your eye…“ He showed the pick to the girl and the woman and then got closer with it to the girl’s eye.

“No…please…please. I don’t know anything. I don’t know!” She screamed the words now, but Atlas just kept on talking as if he didn’t hear her. “…and do a few taps with me hammer. Better to show by example.” He was just about to start his procedure, but the woman didn’t stop screaming.

“Oh, please! Please, don’t. I …I don’t know anything. I…I don’t know. Please!” The hammer was resting only a tiny bit over the pick and when Atlas desired response failed to appear, he finally inserted the pick and rose the hammer in a threatening manner.

“Let go. No.” The girl cried beneath the man, but before Atlas hit the pick the woman burst out: “Suchog’s clinic!” Atlas stopped. “It’s at Suchong’s clinic.” She further explained.

Jack felt a lot of tension falling from him when he saw that Atlas was lowering the hammer again. This was almost too much to handle. This was the man he thought was purely good besides the fact that he was basically not existing. But seeing him like this?! Every hit with the hammer had put another crack in the mirror and Jack felt utterly exhausted just watching the whole torture. His thoughts were once again interrupted by Atlas’s speaking.

“That’s a bit convenient, now. Ryan’s got every turret in the place tuned to me and me men’s genetic code. We’d be torn to shreds before we got ten feet.” His temper had somehow calmed down and the atmosphere in the room had relaxed just a bit.

“That’s right. Which is why I’m gonna’ do it for you.” The woman said her voice under control again. “You okay with that?” She added and Atlas finally removed the pick from the girl’s eye.

“Get me the Ace, I’ll wrap the brat in a silk ribbon.” He gestured to one of his minions and then turned away from the scene. “Bag her and bring her to my Bathysphere.” And then suddenly everything was dark again.

Jack sank onto his knees. This was all too much. He couldn’t believe or better he didn’t want to believe that what he had seen was real. Had this really happened? Would he ever be able to see Atlas as a friendly character again – lie or not? He knew the answer to his own question but before he could think it a female voice made him jump.

“Jack.” She said, and he turned around to look at the woman’s face he had seen before. She knelt beside him and took his hands in hers.

“Who are you?” He simply asked, not knowing what else to say.

“My name is Elizabeth, but this is not important.” She answered and locked eyes with him. Her look was friendly with a hint of disappointment.

“What just happened? Was this even real?” Jack asked and wished deeply the answer to be no.

“What you just saw was indeed real, Jack and as painful as it might was, you had to see it, not only for your own sake.” Jack had no idea what she was talking about.

“I don’t understand.” He muttered while tears ran down his face.

“You need to understand who this man really is. You need to see what he is capable of and that even if he tries to fool you with his act, he is still the same cruel man you just witnessed.” Elizabeth slowly rubbed his hands to calm him down, but her eyes became fiercer as she spoke.

“I know about your deal with him but let me tell you from my own experiences that Atlas does not honor agreements.”

She let go of one of his hands and pointed to his right where suddenly another scene came into view. Atlas, his hands crossed in front of his chest, and two of his thugs, one of them holding the little sister from before, were waiting for another Elizabeth to arrive.

Jack and the other Elizabeth quietly watched the scenario as it happened right in front of them.

“Do you have it?” Atlas barked.

“I have it.” Elizabeth replied.

“Give it over then. I’m keen to get this brat off me hands.” He said, not hiding his disgust for the little sister.

“You know what?” She slowly handed him a folded piece of paper. “Andrew Ryan said I was a rube. But he was wrong. I’m not the rube, Atlas.” The man was about to grab the paper when she suddenly retrieved it. “You are.” She hesitated for a second, inspecting the men standing next to Atlas. “We both know what happens next.” She gave him the piece of paper. “Just get it over with.” She finally concluded.

“Well, love. If you insist…” he said while taking a wrench from one of his thugs and hit her face hard. Elizabeth dropped to the floor, her mind slowly fading away. Atlas on the other hand opened the paper and seemed confused. In a sudden outburst of anger, he knelt in front of her. “What does this say, you little whore? What does this say?” His loud voice echoed in everyone’s ears and the woman lying on the floor opened her eyes with her last remaining will.

“It says.” She made a pause. “Would you kindly.”

Atlas smiled and regained his composure. “We’ve got the activation phrase. Now, all we’ve got to do is get that genetic freak of nature on an airplane and Rapture’s ours.” With one last scream he hauled off and finally killed Elizabeth with one last blow. The image disappeared and Jack and the other Elizabeth were alone again.

_Genetic freak of nature_. The words stung harder than he thought. Jack tried to push away his hurt feelings and asked another question.

“How can you even be here? How is that all possible?” This had to be a nightmare, some bad nightmare trying to scare him.

“Jack, whatever I tell you, you would probably not believe me anyway.” Elizabeth started and hesitated before she continued. “But deep down you know that almost everything is possible. Rapture and you yourself are the best examples. Think about it.”

Jack thought about her words and came to the conclusion to leave it be for now. Instead, he tried to figure out what she wanted to tell him with this last vision besides the fact that Atlas was a total jerk.

“Why did you help him when you knew he was going to kill you?”

Elizabeth sighed. “Jack. I know this might sound crazy to you. But before I told him about the activation phrase, I saw you on that plane. I saw you coming to Rapture and you fought that monster and freed the little sisters from their torment. I only did what I did because I knew my sacrifice would not be in vain. Because I knew that you would stand against him.”

Jack gulped. More tears were blurring his sight and he felt like the most miserable person in the world.

“You must be wrong then. It’s not me who you saw. I’m a complete failure. I didn’t fight. I let him win because I…” he couldn’t say it out loud. Not in front of her.

“I know what I saw Jack. And it’s not too late for you. You just need some help to actually see the truth. Atlas is not real. He will never change into the person you want him to be. The man you just saw that’s him. The truth hurts, I know that all too good. But you had to see this. Good-bye, Jack.”

And suddenly the image of Elizabeth slowly faded away.

His body soaked in sweat, he sat up on his bed. His hands were shaking, and he stared at them, mortified. This was not the first time waking up like this, however, it was the first time he remembered everything that’s happened in the dark.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again a big thank you to all of you who are still reading and of course to everyone who has joined =) I really thought about coming up with some other scenario for Jack to witness but the Lobotomy scene from Burial at Sea is just too damn perfect for this! I hope you liked it. I tried to do this original scene justice and I hope I haven't failed. See you next week =)


	12. Salvation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! I hope everyone of you is alright. My life kinda sucks right now so I just want everyone else to feel better ^^ But sharing this story with all my lovely readers makes me very happy and I want to thank you for reading, giving kudos or even leaving a comment. It means a whole lot to me, especially right now =) So please enjoy the new chapter. I changed this chapter quite a lot as I was never totally happy with it, but now I'm glad I did as I think it turned out pretty good in the end (at least that's what I think xD) okay enough talking...

“What’s wrong with you, boyo?” Atlas said looking him right in the eyes.

This was bad. Since his horrible nightmare or vision or whatever it had been, Jack was at the edge of going crazy. How could he go through with this now? He couldn’t erase the images he had seen in his dreams, but after he had processed the first shock and washed away his sweat, suddenly Fontaine, acting as Atlas had been waiting in his room. Yes, of course after his last mission it was reward time again and Jack was impressed that Fontaine still held his end of the bargain, but just now he didn’t want the man to be here.

Jack wanted to get a clear mind, to think everything through again. He needed to reconsider his options and check if he was still able to do this and the longer the other man was in his presence the more, he realized something had to change. He had to change.

The problem was that there was nothing he could do right now. If Jack would give Fontaine any reason to believe that he was about to break their little arrangement, it was over. Jack was totally aware of the fact that the other man held the whip hand and he didn’t want to find out what Fontaine would do to him when he would smell a rat.

_Betray me and you will get to know what it means to betray Frank Fontaine._ Jack shivered only thinking about what Fontaine had said to him and he knew that with _would you kindly_ there was no way to get away from him, now.

The consequence was obviously to somehow get through this meeting without uncovering his true feelings and then when he would be alone again, he could come up with a new plan. 

“C’mon, tell me what’s wrong.” Atlas repeated in a whisper. His mouth was close to Jack’s ear, while he had captured the younger man against the wall.

Jack’s breathing was shallow. On the one hand he still couldn’t deny his attraction towards this man, but now it was mixed with these moral doubts. He wasn’t able to suppress who he was dealing with anymore. It was his inner struggle going on that would sooner or later reveal him.

“I’m sorry. Guess I’m still exhausted from my last trip. Seems like fighting a Big daddy paid its toll on me.” Jack tried to excuse his weird behavior.

Atlas pressed his body against Jack’s before he answered in a seductive voice. “I know it’ll take more than one of those to exceed your limits. After all you’re me Ace in the Hole, aren’t ya?”

Jack froze. Great – why did Atlas choose to call him that, now?

“Don’t say that. I’m nothing special.” He replied with a lump in his throat.

“To me you are special…Jack.” Atlas kissed him.

Great goodness. Today, the man laid it on a bit thick. He must be in an especially good mood. Usually, Jack would indulge in a statement like this, but now it just hurt. He finally came back to his senses and he not only knew it was a lie, he could feel it too. But it didn’t matter. He would enjoy this last moment and get himself involved with this man for one more time. One more time before his world would once again be turned upside down.

Thus, Jack greedily grabbed Atlas’s hair and pulled him deeper into the kiss. He could practically feel the other man grinning while he tried to push his tongue past his lips. This time he would at least not just stay passive in this. That was his way of getting through this. Regaining some of the control he had lost and then he could think about his next steps.

Jack grabbed Atlas’s suspenders and slowly pushed him towards the bed, never interrupting their kiss. As they arrived in front of it, Jack parted his lips from the other’s and smiled. Then he shoved him onto the bed. _Let’s see how far I can go._

“Don’t move.” He took off his shirt and crawled onto the man and whispered in his ear. “Tell me that you want me.”

He withdrew his head and sat astride on Atlas, staring at him with lustful eyes. The other leaned on his elbows and reciprocated his look. A playful smile appeared on his face.

“More than you might think.” He said and pulled him back down. They shared another sinful kiss and Jack worked on Atlas’s buttons to free him from his clothes. The other had to lift his torso so Jack could remove the shirt for good. After he did so he grabbed the older man’s neck and held their faces close together. Nobody said a word. How easy it would be to break his neck now. Nothing could stop him, he just needed to do it quickly and nobody would ever again threaten to control him if he didn’t obey.

“I love you.”

Jack’s hand froze in midair. What did he just say? His expression must have revealed his thoughts.

“Yes, I love you. Don’t ever leave me. You and I, we belong together.” Atlas smiled, but Jack swore he could see a hint of Fontaine behind this curtain of lies.

However, once again this man had surprised him. This love confession, despite it being a lie, sounded so genuine to him, that his heart skipped a beat. Did this man sense that his life had just been hanging on a thin threat? Did he know that manipulating him like that was the far bigger torture to him than just taking away his free will again?

He would never know. He had only two choices. Kill him or kiss him and Jack eventually chose the latter. The result were two men each playing their own games and pretending to be in love with the other. To Jack it was the most intensive experience he had ever made.

He pressed their lips together again and shoved the other back on the sheets. They were no words necessary anymore. With determined hands he opened Atlas’s belt and pulled it out with one swift motion. He tossed it away and continued his endeavor to undress the other man. More than ever he felt in control. For the first time he felt a big weight falling off his chest. When he heard Atlas’s moan as he took his length into his mouth, he felt a new surge of power trailing through his body.

In the end, they became more passionate, their movements more impatient and the heat between them was like a fire burning around them. When the older man finally pushed his cock deep inside of him, Jack felt more than pure lust. When he looked down at the other man, he could see that it was not Atlas who was looking back at him. This was Fontaine. Fontaine who grabbed his hips and thrusted into him fast and hard. Jack was finally free. He had never believed that looking at Fontaine and riding him like this would be the most satisfying experience in his life. However, accepting the truth and also acknowledging his own desires felt like his own salvation. He didn’t need to fool himself anymore and think that this man was Atlas or that this man loved him.

Jack couldn’t care less right now. He wouldn’t deny for a second that it felt good what Fontaine did to him and seeing him enjoying this with him was more than a small victory for Jack.

Since he had lost his memories, this was the first time he felt totally in control again. It felt like all the lies between them slowly faded away, at least for the younger man. On the one hand Jack, ultimately in his right mind, having sex with the man who just wanted to control and dominate him. On the other hand, Frank Fontaine who finally acted as himself and clearly showed that fucking Jack was some internal urge he couldn’t resist.

When they finally both came, Jack let his body drop next to Fontaine’s. They both turned their heads, so that they were facing each other. “I love you too…Frank.”

_Prepare yourself, Fontaine. Two can play that game._

*-----*

He had to leave _today_. Jack knew that if he wanted to take action there was no other way. After all his missions, this was his first real break from everything. After yesterday Fontaine had granted him one day off, because he thought that Jack could use a break. This only proved that Fontaine had swallowed Jack’s lies. Perfect.

It felt good to have a new goal - something he could fight for. And he would fight - for his own freedom. He could no longer accept and support Fontaine’s endeavors, not after what he had seen in his dream vision. Now, that he had told him about Eleanor, Jack was more than afraid of what he would do to her. Of course, he could refuse to help him torturing another child, but there was not really a choice for him, and he knew that all too well.

Also, just running away by himself didn’t seem like a good idea. He was too afraid that Fontaine would find him, or only a speaker he could use would be enough and every attempt to escape would be in vain. No, he needed help and he already got an idea who might help him: Brigid Tenenbaum.

Why didn’t he think of her before? Well he knew why and thinking about missed opportunities was a waste of time anyway. The first time he had met her was after he had killed Dr. Steinman. It had been the first time he had met a little sister. Jack remembered how Atlas had told him that those children were not human anymore and that he should get all the Adam he could. However, before he had reached the little scared monster of a girl a woman had appeared. She had worn a long purple dress, not a fancy one, but it might had been looked nice once. She had had her brown hair tight back in a low plait.

So, before he could harm the girl in any way, she urged him to think about it. She had told him that there was another way. A way to free the girls from their misery. That it was not too late for them. Thus, she had given him another tonic and disappeared. She hadn’t forced him to do what she would like him to, maybe because she had known that she wasn’t able to or maybe she had wanted Jack to make the right choice himself.

In retrospect it was quite funny. This had been one of the rare situations in which Atlas hadn’t made him do what he wanted. This had been one of his own choices and Jack was rather proud of himself. He had looked at the little girl and despite the way her creepy yellow eyes looked so gruesome at him and how weird she had behaved, the only thing he could see was a little girl who was frightened of what he was about to do to her.

Now, after thinking about it he wanted to believe that he had felt some inner connection between the girl and himself. They both had been victims of scientists who just wanted to use them for their newest achievements. They both weren’t responsible for what had happened to them.

Being nice to all the little sisters, he had encountered on his way, had paid off. He had got more Adam than he had needed and Tenenbaum had contacted him once in a while to thank him for his actions. It had felt good but after everything that had happened, he had just forgot about all that.

Now, there were two big questions? Was that woman able to help him? After all what Jack had learned about her on his way through Rapture, he was sure that if there was one person left in this hellhole to help him with what had been done to him, then it was Brigid Tenenbaum. Which led him to his second question. Where was she?

It was the first time he asked himself that question and the more he thought about it, the more he believed that after Jack had killed Andrew Ryan, not only he had been kidnapped, but the scientist woman as well. It all made sense. On his last mission he had saved another sister and there had been no word from her. Now that he thought about it, it seemed really strange. After so many days of absence it would be only logical that she would contact him like she had usually done. And also, as far as he remembered, Tenenbaum once had worked for Fontaine so it was at least a tiny bit logical that Fontaine wanted her back under control, just like he did with Jack.

To be honest, there was still a short amount of time in which Jack couldn’t tell what had happened. When he tried to think about it, he sometimes believed to see one of the sisters, trying to help him. But at the end of the day he could not tell if that had really happened or if he had just thought too many times about the little girls the last few days. But couldn’t it be that this actually happened and that it had been Tenenbaum herself to send him help after Atlas had revealed himself?

Either way, it was highly likely that Fontaine had kidnapped Tenenbaum too. Or worse he had killed her. There was only one way to find out. Jack rose from his bed and grabbed the backpack from his chair where he had stored the remaining tools from his last mission. Then he walked to the door and slowly opened it. Luckily, it wasn’t locked anymore.

*-----*

Brigit was at her wit’s end. There was nothing she could do anymore – nothing. She was too weak to fight against Fontaine and his thugs. In the beginning she had been irritated by his visits, but now since he almost never came to see her anymore, she doubted that it meant something good. Additionally, she felt lonely. Not that she wanted him to come back every day but being here all by herself with no one to talk to and nothing to think about except all her failures and how Jack had disappointed her believes, was enough torture.

The last thing she had heard from Fontaine last time was that Jack had degraded himself to be Fontaine’s new whore, as he had called it with a huge grin on his new face. Brigit couldn’t believe it. How was that even possible? She just couldn’t understand why Jack voluntarily chose to make a deal with that man. Was he really that blind?

_Don't throw bricks when you live in a glass house._ She scolded herself.

In the beginning Brigid had been sure that it must be part of a bigger plan and that Jack would sooner or later stab Fontaine in the back, hopefully literally. But as days turned into weeks, she had finally lost hope. It was over. There was nothing she could do for him if he didn’t want to be saved from that man.

A sudden noise from outside made her jump. Was that a scream? Brigid turned around from her sitting position and looked at her door. There was another sound – another exclamation, but this time more muffled. What the hell was going on out there? With a new sense of determination, she rose from her chair when suddenly everything fell silent again. She froze in her movement and tried to eavesdrop. For a few seconds nothing happened. Then somebody tried to open the door. Of course, it was locked and so the endeavor was in vain. However, whoever was standing outside of her room wasn’t going to give up.

She heard the cracking sound of a weapon being fired and with one swift motion the door was opened. Brigit caught her breath when she finally realized who had broken into her room. It really was Jack.

At first, he looked a bit puzzled, but suddenly he seemed to recognize her, and a twinge of happiness showed on his face before it was replaced by panic.

“I need your help. We must go. NOW!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thak you for reading and if you want to share your thoughts with me, please don't be shy ^^ I'm always happy to interact with my lovely readers. You are the best <3


	13. Pain

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please enjoy the new chapter ;-)

Fontaine still couldn’t believe that things had turned out like this. He was still lying in his bed after some blessing hours of sleep. The best he had in months. Everything was going according to plan, or even better.

After he had first believed that something was off about Jack, he had turned the tables once again. The fake love confession had precisely worked as he had thought. The kid was wax in his hands. Moreover, he had used his real first name for the first time. It was like music to his ears. The way Jack had reciprocated his _feelings_. It had taken a lot of willpower not to laugh out loud in that moment.

He had Jack just where he wanted him. With each word, with each action he had lured the other man deeper into his trap. Soon he would be the one and only person ruling Rapture. Nobody would stop him, not with Jack at his side. And when Rapture would finally be his, there would be a whole new world for him to conquer.

Fontaine stretched his arms and straightened his upper body. From outside he heard a shot being fired. It was somewhere in the distance and it hadn’t been the first one in the last few hours. Pure silence was something rare down here. There were always some fights going on, leaking spots, rogue splicers and Big Daddies with their little sisters. The list was endless, and Fontaine sometimes wished he could escape it for just a few minutes. But today he wouldn’t worry too much about everything. He had enough minions on his side to keep the area safe.

He was pretty sure that Lamb and her followers had eventually realized that their big project was in danger and that Atlas was no longer involved in his little war with Andrew Ryan.

Fontaine wasn’t afraid. He knew that if he would somehow get his hands on Eleanor, victory was his. Not only was she the daughter of Sofia Lamb, he just had this weird feeling that the girl was even more important than it seemed at first glance.

There were only a few things he knew: Eleanor was a little sister and she had been one of the first girls to get partnered with the Delta series. It was highly likely that Lamb had tried to get her daughter back after she had fled imprisonment. The fact that he and Ryan had been so concentrated on each other had definitely played into her hands, but that was over now.

Thus, Eleanor was either still with her Big Daddy or she was somewhere harder to reach. One way or another, as soon as he had her, Sofia Lamb would wish to never have challenged him in the first place. He grinned.

With new energy Fontaine left the bed and went to the bathroom. In front of his mirror he stopped and looked at himself. He needed to shave. A three-day beard was already showing on his face and even though it somehow suited him, he preferred his face clean shaved. Unfortunately, his shaving tools were in his other rooms, so he decided to leave it for one more day. Before he left the bathroom again, he cleaned his face and washed his body briefly. Then he put on the shirt from yesterday and fastened his suspenders.

While he had dressed himself, Fontaine had decided who he would visit today. He had promised Jack a day off and he would keep his word and Jack couldn’t help him anyway. However, there was another person whom he hadn’t seen in a while who knew all too well about her little creations and who was going to be his first stop today.

On his way to her room, he already had the feeling that something was wrong. The moment he had left his secure suite he could sense it. Something had happened here. Lamb and her followers? He grabbed the pistol from the back of his pants. Usually he would let others do the fighting for him, but he would never dare to wander around Rapture without a weapon. Especially, when he was one of the last people in this town without a plasmid upgrade. He wouldn’t ruin his body with this toxic substance.

He took the safety catch off and held the weapon in his right hand to be ready to fire. Nothing happened after he turned around the next corner. He walked through the next hallway and took the stairs to the first floor. His goal was behind the next corner. He gulped. His feeling of unease got stronger.

Fontaine finally turned around the corner and looked at two dead splicers and one opened door. No! This couldn’t be. With a few long steps he arrived at the door and looked inside. No Tenenbaum, of course.

_Goddamn bitch!_

He wanted to scream, wanted to punch somebody hard. How could she have escaped? For a few seconds he couldn’t think straight. His mind was blurry with rage. He walked up and down the room and kicked against the desk. Then suddenly he stopped. A fanciful thought occurred to him.

_Jack!_

Without hesitation, he left the empty room behind and started running towards the kid’s quarters. It was basically at the other end of Olympus Heights, for a reason of course. On his way he encountered a few of his servants who eyed him nervously, but Fontaine couldn’t care less. Whoever had messed this up would pay for it!

A few minutes later he eventually arrived in front of Jack’s door and without knocking he entered it immediately. The closer he had come the more he had assumed the worst. And now it had become reality. Jack was gone! With a loud blast he threw his gun against the nearest wall and let out an angry cry. Then he buried his face in his hands and started laughing. This little piece of shit really had fooled him _._

His laughing grew into something so disturbingly lunatic, that he was in no way inferior to any of the splicers out there. On the one hand he couldn’t believe how stupid he had been, but on the other hand he was also somehow impressed how Jack had double crossed him. But being on the receiving end was a bitter pill to swallow.

Chances were of course highly likely that Jack had escaped with this stupid Mother Goose. Had he planned this all along? Fontaine hated it to be in the dark about everything. Had Jack fooled him from the beginning since he had offered him his deal? If that was the case Fontaine had really been the idiot in this story. However, somehow, he couldn’t believe that this was the case. Something must have happened to Jack.

Eventually, Fontaine calmed down and tried to collect his thoughts. The game was not over yet. He had promised something. He would make Jack regret that he had betrayed him. He would find Jack and he would make him pay. If Jack had believed to be a slave over the last two weeks, he would get the shock of his life when Fontaine would get his hands on him again.

Suddenly a thought struck him, and he hastily searched for Jack’s personal belongings. There was nothing left here in his room which could only mean that he had taken everything with him. That was his first mistake.

_You try to hide from me, kid. But I will always find you. Hearing my voice will be enough anyway._

With new confidence, Fontaine left the room and made his way back to his penthouse suite. Deep down in one of his drawers was something hidden that would lead him to victory. His short wave radio.

*-----*

Jack was unconscious. Well at least that’s what he assumed. He was back in his dark endless emptiness. But since his meeting with Elizabeth it felt more real than it ever had. Like he could escape reality for some time to collect his thoughts. Here, nobody could harm him, and he was able to see things clearer.

However, now everything was just dark, no images to see and nowhere to go to. Jack was totally calm and focused on his breathing. Something inside of him had changed. He could clearly feel it. A weight had been pulled off his chest and it seemed like everything on his mind was gone. He almost floated.

He didn’t know how much time had passed since he had run away with Tenenbaum. He didn’t know if they were in a safe place, but she had insisted on where to go and what to do. Jack had decided to trust her. They hadn’t talked that much. There would be a time to do so, but now the only thing that mattered was the fact that she was trying to help.

From a far distance he could hear a strange noise. It was like a whirring and Jack believed he had heard it somewhere before. But he couldn’t put his finger on it. The sound drew closer to him and he tried to remember why it felt so familiar. Then suddenly it dawned on him. This was the sound of his short-wave radio. As soon as he realized it, he woke up.

Panic. The radio. He had taken the radio with him. It was in his backpack with the rest of his stuff. His eyes searched the small room in which he had been lying and found his backpack and Tenenbaum standing next to it. A muffled voice could be heard from it and Jack first urge was to press his hands on his ears. However, then he saw the woman shaking her head and a smile appeared on her face.

“Don’t be afraid. While you sleep, I undo some of Fontaine's mental conditioning.”

Slowly Jack reached for his bag and pulled out the radio. Now the voice was clearly audible. It was Atlas.

“Jack, can you hear me. Are you there?” Jack knew this was an act. Fontaine must be furious. He used the switch so that the other could hear him.

“Stop the act. We both know that I broke our deal.” Jack said and Tenenbaum took a seat opposite him, eyeing his every move. He felt slightly uncomfortable. He didn’t want their conversation to be so open, but now was not the time to complain about something needless like privacy.

“You know kid, I really wished things would have gone differently. But it seems like our little game is over. So…” He made a pause and Jack knew what was about to come. His hands were shaking, and he held the device firmly. “Come back to me, right now, would you kindly?”

There was nothing. Nothing happened. Jack couldn’t believe it. He got so used to this feeling and now it was already hard to remember. His shaking stopped and he replied.

“I won’t do that.” It felt so good to say these words. Silence followed.

“So, you’ve hooked up with Tenenbaum. This was quicker than I expected. I’m impressed, Mother Goose.” Fontaine said directly to Tenenbaum. His voice seemed relatively calm despite the circumstances that he had just lost his most valuable weapon. Then he went on.

“Seems like she has been playing around in your egg salad. Don’t worry. If you won’t dance to that tune, I got others. _Code yellow_.”

Jack cried out in pain. What was happening to him? He felt like something heavy had been put on his chest, like every tiny bit of air had been pushed out of his lungs. Tenenbaum came to his side and tried to help him, but she also didn’t know what was going on.

“I just told your brain to tell your heart to stop beating. Not right off the bat, mind you. The heart's a stubborn muscle. But, not that stubborn.” Fontaine explained the whole incident to them as if he was talking about the weather. However, the smugness in his voice was unmistakable.

“I should have known that this monster can still pull some very unpleasant strings. We made your mind with many locks and keys and unfortunately, Fontaine has most of those keys.” Tenenbaum said but was interrupted by the sound of the radio.

“It’s up to you now, kid. You like to choose, don’t you? You can either die out there or you can come back to me. The longer you wait the more painful it gets. Do you really want to throw away what we had? I can give you everything you need – everything.”

It was hard for Jack to get a clear thought. His heart was racing irregularly in his chest like it forgot how to work. His hand clutched his sweater as if it would ease the pain. The radio fell silent and either Fontaine was just enjoying the show, or he had decided to leave them alone until Jack had come to a decision. Right now, even if he wanted to go back to his tormentor, he didn’t even know how to manage that.

Jack somehow couldn’t believe that Fontaine was actually trying to kill him. Was he so certain that he would return to him? And was killing him really that easy for him? Jack wanted to believe that Fontaine valued him a bit more. Not that he cared about him, that was definitely not the case - obviously. However, Jack knew that he was important to the man because of his skills and maybe also as some way to blow off steam. It was a fact that Fontaine had enjoyed the sex just as much as he had.

Suddenly the pain slowly faded away and his heart was beating steadily again. 

“Careful. Breathe.” Tenenbaum said to him and laid her hand on his shoulder to support her words. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t know that he was able to…but I, we will find a solution.”

Jack rested his head against the wall behind him. He took a deep breath. Tiny pearls of sweat rolled over his hot skin. This was the worst he had ever experienced and the fear of feeling this pain again drove him crazy.

“Are we save here?” Jack had not really paid any attention to where the woman had led him. But no matter what, his body felt so exhausted right now, he needed a break. He needed sleep.

“For now, we should be save. Why?” Tenenbaum looked at him confused.

“I need a few minutes to rest. I…I cannot do this right now.” Jack already felt his eyelids becoming heavier with every word he said. Before he could say anything else, the whole world in front of him disappeared and he succumbed to the exhaustion.

Jack had no idea how long he had been asleep but the way he got woken couldn’t be worse. In an instant he opened his eyes and cried out loud. The pain in his chest had returned and as it seemed even worse than before. His whole body cramped, and he rolled himself from one side to the other, trying to do something against the pain. Everything was blurry in his sight. The pain conquered his whole body and weakened all his senses. Fontaine hadn’t lied when he had said that he would get to know what it meant to betray him.

Jack’s last remaining thoughts wandered to Elizabeth. Had she felt the same when Atlas had hammered the pick against her prefrontal lobe? And could he give up his life entirely like she had done before Atlas had decided to use the little girl to get the answers he wanted? He had to make the right decision. The problem was under the influence of such a great amount of pain, he had no idea what was right or wrong anymore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone who is still with me =) You are the best and it's always nice to chat with you about the story. Please leave a comment if you like, and if not that's also okay ^^ See you next week!


	14. Antidote

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As I just made the 1000 hits I decided to upload the next chapter a wee bit ealier than usual ^^ And also I want to give a special thank you for everyone who commented on my last chapter! I got so much love for my story again that I was simply overwhelmed! So this HUGE thank you is for each of you! So here we go with the next chapter ;-)

The pain was gone. At least for now. Since Fontaine had activated _Code Yellow_ Jack had suffered four sessions of severe pain in his chest and right now, he had no idea how many more he could survive. His body felt weaker than ever before and with every new attack he could feel his will was about to be broken. Something had to be done, now!

“I have an idea.” Jack slowly turned his head. Tenenbaum was not directly looking at him. She was more thinking out loud, but Jack used the opportunity to start a conversation anyway. If nothing would happen soon, he would either die or run back to Fontaine as quickly as possible, and he wasn’t too keen about both of those two options.

“Do you know how to stop this?” Jack said and eventually got her attention.

“No, not directly. It was Suchong who created your mind and also the mind control plasmid, that is responsible for this.” She pointed at him, but Jack knew what she tried to explain. Thus, he just nodded and let her continue.

“If we could get to Suchong’s apartment in Mercury Suites, we might find something about an antidote, or maybe even better the antidote itself. I don’t believe that there isn’t one.” She concluded.

“What makes you think that?” Jack wasn’t convinced yet.

“Well, first of all Fontaine is obviously blackmailing you and wants you to come back. Doesn’t that mean that he knows how to reverse the effect of the mind control?” Tenenbaum explained to him.

“That makes sense.” Jack admitted, but then another thought crossed his mind. “But what if it’s just another command that reverses the effect. If that’s the case, he could always use ‘code yellow’ again?”

Jack’s own idea crushed his hope, however, Tenenbaum was shaking her head, obviously disagreeing.

“No. There has to be an antidote. I know Frank. He would never let someone create such a powerful plasmid without having a backup plan against it. What if someone would get their hands on it and use it against him? No, I’m one hundred percent sure that it exists. But there is another problem.”

She rose from her chair and walked up and down as if it would help her think.

“Suchong’s apartment is in Olympus Heights and his clinic is in Apollo Square. So, we need to go back to where we fled from.”

Before Jack could say something about the most imminent problem, he suddenly felt his heart beating faster again. He tried to even his breathing and to calm down. He knew that the real attack was only getting nearer. This was the first indicator. How should he do anything in his condition. He was totally useless.

“I know you can’t move right now.” Tenenbaum said as if she had read his thoughts. “But don’t worry. You helped me and I will help you. I owe you so much, after you were there for my little ones. I won’t let you down. I know my ways through Rapture. I had an apartment there too. I only need to distract Fontaine long enough. Maybe my girls can help me.” The last part of her speech was more to herself than to Jack, but he was nonetheless moved by her words. This woman was truly his friend. He didn’t know her that long, but Jack now clearly felt the difference between her and Fontaine’s Atlas.

“I can distract him.” He finally said. Jack really wanted to help.

“How?” She turned around and looked at him curiously.

“I will contact him over the radio. I’ll make him believe that I’ll return. But before I will engage him in a conversation. It might work long enough for you to sneak in and out again.”

For a moment the woman fell silent. Then she nodded in agreement.

“It’s not the best plan, but we do not have many choices anyway. And even more important we don’t have much time. _Gut_. Let’s try it.”

*-----*

Brigit was on her way. She wasn’t too keen on walking through Rapture all by herself. Jack had insisted on giving her his pistol, which only made the boy feel better she thought to herself. Anyway, she knew her way around in Rapture, but still, she would feel much better if she didn’t need to go back to where she had fled from. The big question was where to go first. Suchong’s apartment was in the center of Olympus Heights: Mercury Suites. However, his clinic was in Apollo Square, which would at least be the less dangerous location. Where would he hide documents about this potential antidote or the antidote itself?

Brigit’s first instinct was the clinic. It just made sense. On the other hand, it was also logical to hide such important documents in his private apartments. As she came from Adonis Luxury Resorts, Apollo Square was just a little bit closer and so she eventually decided for the prior headquarters of Atlas and his followers. As they now moved their hideout to the more luxury apartments in Olympus Heights there was a little chance that Apollo Square was less guarded now.

On her way she thought about her little girls. When Fontaine’s men had captured Brigid, she had helped the little ones to escape, just in time. It had been a risk to let them go. Rapture was not a save place, especially not for children – children who had nobody to protect them, be it Adam or a Big Daddy. Even though, Brigit hated those monsters, now she wished that one would guard her little ones until she was able to go back to them.

One thing that gave her hope was the fact that the girls knew their way around Rapture too, and they were also able to use ways grown-ups couldn’t use, just because they were simply too big. There was a slight chance that they would hide long enough without being caught by splicers.

But not only the girls knew some secret passages. Brigit was also aware of the one or other way apart from the official ones and so she managed to arrive at Apollo Square without facing any obstacles.

Before entering the area for good, she tried to remember the shortest way to the clinic. It was located in Artemis Suites. Thus, from her position she needed to cross the metro tunnel and then turn right to Artemis Suites, otherwise she would end up at Fontaine’s home for the poor.

From her hiding spot she checked her surroundings for any potential enemies. As she couldn’t see any, she carefully went on. Her right hand was tightly closed around the pistol. She tried to calm her breathing and focus on her task. A few eventless minutes later she arrived at the actual Apollo Square and halted for a second. She looked at the corpses hanging from the wooden beams in the middle of the Square. Apollo Square had really been the center of the Civil War, especially for Atlas’s people. Everybody in Rapture had heard stories about Apollo Square and some of them had made people choose the wrong side in this. To be fair, no one of these people had known that Atlas’s motives had all been fake and that he was Frank Fontaine using the poor people of Rapture to fight for him.

It was not like Brigid had not cared about all this, but around that time she had her own war to fight. A war with herself and in her eyes she had won. Now the ultimate goal was to save the girls not only from being little sisters, but from Rapture itself. Therefore, she needed Jack and therefore she needed to find an antidote, no matter what.

She was torn away from her thoughts when she heard the giggle of a female splicer. Instinctively, she ducked and slowly continued her way. She didn’t exactly know where the sound came from. The echo from the walls was more confusing than helpful. As quietly as possible she made her way through the square and took the way to her left which led to Artemis Suites.

She had just entered the tunnel when someone pulled on her dress. In one swift move she turned around and pointed the gun at the opponent, but it was just a girl.

“Momma Tenenbaum. I found you.” The girl’s face was full of joy. She looked like Christmas had been accelerated – if they had known a typical Christmas.

Tears rolled down Brigid’s face, she didn’t know what to say. Never had she felt so happy in the last few weeks. This was more bless than she deserved. She knelt and embraced the girl, not caring how filthy they both looked. It didn’t matter anyway here in Apollo Square where everything was stinking and filthy.

“Momma you are squeezing me.” The girl said and the woman let go of her.

“ _Entschuldige_. How? I mean… where are the others? Are you save?” She swiped away her tears.

“The others are hiding in…” But Brigid interrupted her. “No, it’s fine. Don’t tell me where. It’s only important that you’re save.”

It was better if she didn’t know too much. She didn’t want to risk the girl’s security. The less she knew right now the better. 

“Will you come back to us?” The girl asked.

“Yes, we will be together again, but right now I need to help the man who saved you and the others. Do you want to help me?” She didn’t want to leave the girl behind and she could be useful too. The girls were clever and a valuable ally in Rapture, even though they didn’t look like that.

The girl nodded happily and together they continued their way. In a whisper Brigid explained what she was about to do and that they had to be really quiet if they wanted to sneak in without being seen. Luckily, Apollo Square was almost like a ghost town. The few splicers they encountered were easily to bypass. Brigid preferred to distract them by throwing empty bottles and the like in the opposite direction to where she and the girl were heading and so she successfully avoided any fights until they reached the clinic of Suchong. The security cameras and turrets were already destroyed and therefore posed no harm to them anymore.

Brigit asked the girl to hide right behind the door and inform her when an intruder was coming close. The girl was more than happy to play her role and nodded in excitement after she had received such an important task. Afterwards, Brigid entered the clinic and was greeted with Suchong’s dead body a huge drill smashed through his torso.

_Everybody gets what they deserve._ Brigid thought and ignored the bloody mess on the desk and started rummaging through every piece of paper and any documents she could find. At first it seemed a hopeless task. There was nothing valuable to find, nothing about anything connected to Jack. Brigit was just about to give up when she found a folder hidden in a secret compartment of one of the drawers. It was actually more a coincidence that she had even found it, but now she greedily skimmed through the lines. This was it!

She couldn’t believe her luck. There really was a note about the antidote she had hoped existed. It was called Lot 192. It was especially designed to counteract Code Yellow and WYK. As the latter was already out of question, Brigit only cared about Code Yellow. The document further said that the antidote consisted of two different doses. The first one would return the proband’s heart to return into a normal state, however this came with some side effects and that’s what the second dose was for. Unfortunately, the document didn’t say how these side effects would look like.

Hastily, she folded the paper and put it away. Then she started looking through every shelf and every corner of the clinic.

_Please let the antidote be here. Bitte!_

Her eyes scanned the room from the middle and she suddenly spotted a flask with the sign Lot 192. _Jackpot!_

She took the flask, but her excitement was soon replaced by a frown. The second dose wasn’t here, and Brigit had a vague idea where it was.

She really had hoped that she didn’t need to go anywhere near Fontaine again. Chances where high that he hid the second dose somewhere in his private suite. Then it was already hopeless. The second option was that the dose was still in Suchong’s apartment but guarded. Not ideal either. But the better option out of these two and the one with a slight chance of success.

However, the risk of losing the first dose was too high but leaving it behind also wasn’t what she wanted. She looked around and her eyes fell on the girl. Maybe she could bring the dose to Jack? It was a risk but also her only backup plan if she would get caught in Olympus Heights. She could also go back first with the first dose and see what side effects would occur and then they might be able to go and get the second one together.

For a few minutes Brigit played around with all her ideas. She knew that every minute she thought about this was valuable time she shouldn’t waste. Time was running short. Eventually, she came to a conclusion. She would send the girl back to Jack with the first dose and would at least try to get her hands on the second. If they would wait too long, Fontaine might become suspicious that something was going on and he would take further counter measures. This was the last thing they wanted.

*-----*

Jack hands were trembling. Just a few more minutes before he wanted to contact Fontaine. His body felt like a Big Daddy had crushed him full force with its drill. Just half an hour ago the last heart attack had ended, and he was glad that he hadn’t lost his consciousness.

He had finally managed to sit up on his provisional bed. His breathing returned to a normal pace, but his head felt like it was about to explode. Since the last wave of pain, a severe headache had been added to his list of troubles.

Jack had no specific plan. He didn’t know exactly how he wanted to start their conversation. The only thing that important was that it lasted as long as possible. Right now, he couldn’t take the measures of Fontaine. When he had spoken to him over the radio last time, he didn’t seem as angry as he had believed he would be. Instead he had sounded smug as ever with a hint of schadenfreude.

He looked at the radio next to him and took it in his right hand. One more minute. Would their plan be successful? Was this whole distracting tactic really working?

The more he thought about it the more ridiculous it seemed. Maybe he just wanted to have one last talk before he decided if he would die here or return to him. Maybe there was no other way. Yes, there was hope, but with every minute that passed by Jack lost faith in the whole mission. Mentally he tried to prepare for the worst.

Jack pressed the button on the radio and took one last breath before he spoke. “Fontaine, can you hear me?”

Silence. Maybe he didn’t have the shortwave radio with him? Jack stared at the device waiting desperately for a reply. His tense state was finally released when the radio came alive again and he heard a familiar voice.

“Well it took you a while. Why so distant? I thought we were on a first name basis after all.” Fontaine’s mocking voice echoed through the small room.

“You know that I lied to you when I said it.” Jack replied, being pretty sure that Fontaine knew what he was talking about.

“Are you sure about that, Jack? From what I know, you didn’t bother to much about having sex with _me.”_ he emphasized the last word more than necessary. Jack was more than thankful that this talk would stay private. He didn’t want Tenenbaum to hear any of this. On the one hand he would be embarrassed, but on the other hand he knew that he was responsible for his actions and that he didn’t regret all of his choices.

“You’re right I don’t. But that doesn’t mean I will continue tolerating what kind of human being you are.” Jack said, leaving the statement a bit cryptic, at least the conversation should last as long as possible.

Laughter rang through the radio before the other answered.

“Seriously? Now you getting’ morality issues? What’s changed? Don’t you think that our little arrangement was profitable for both of us?”

Jack was slightly confused. Fontaine was calmer than he had anticipated. Was he really that relaxed or was he hiding something?

“Profitable? Yes, you’re right. I won’t deny that having Atlas as my lover was the one thing, I wanted the most and I also didn’t care when you, Frank, showed your true face. There was a time when I believed that this might work, that this might be a life I could live and be happy. It’s not important what’s changed, but the crucial point is that you need me more than I need you.”

Jack took a deep breath, maybe it was not the best idea to provoke him, now, but he just wanted to see how valuable he was to this man,

“Careful, kid. You’re having one foot in the grave already. You still have the chance to return to me and we’ll forget all of this, but if not, I know that you’ll die a very painful death. Losing you will weaken my forces, but I won’t let you blackmail me. You’re not as important as you think, you little brat.” Fontaine’s voice sounded angry.

Jack gulped at the mentioning of his own death. He knew his clock was ticking with every minute that passed by. Jack didn’t doubt that this man would let him die here and finding some kind of triumphal pleasure in it.

“How does it feel when your heart starts refusing to beat? Can you feel how your body slowly fades away? In a few hours you’ll be as dead as your overweening father.” Fontaine’s anger had turned into derogatoriness.

The more the other man talked about it, the more Jack had the feeling that his heart would stop beating any minute. He needed to change the subject, quickly.

“I don’t want to die.” Jack said glumly. It was the plain truth. He wasn’t as brave or as desperate as Elizabeth had been. Even though most of his life had been a lie and most of the time people had been playing their wicked games with him, he wanted to live. He was willing to fight Fontaine and stopping his evil doings for good, however he knew that his chances to do so were extremely low. Going back to this man and giving up would be humiliating, but at least it would prolong his life. Then he would either accept his fate one day, as he had almost done a few days before or he would fight again.

“How do I know that you’ll cure me of my condition if I come back to you?” Jack asked, desperately wishing for an answer he would never get.

“You don’t, kid. Your life is in my hands and if you want to live, you’ll dedicate your whole being to me, do you understand?”

Jack gulped. He knew what this man was capable of. He had seen him torture people and he didn’t hesitate to kill those who were in his way. Jack was learning this lesson the hard way currently. But fact was that if Fontaine would reverse the effects of Code Yellow and being unable to use would you kindly against him, there was nothing stopping Jack from fighting and ultimately killing this man. 

His whole fighting spirit had been nearly crushed by him, but it was still there, and it was still stronger than this little part of him that just wanted to give in and return to how things had been.

“If you don’t want to lose me as your perfect tool, you will have no other choice than to cure me. And if you do so there is nothing that you could do to stop me from killing you. You’re standing with your back to the wall, _Frank._ ”

Jack wanted to believe in his and Tenenbaum’s plan. He wanted to fight and he didn’t want Fontaine to see or hear that he was weak, that he was so close to giving up, but unfortunately, it didn’t seem to work, because all he could hear was a long and evil laughter.

“C’mon, kid. We both know the truth. Stop playing around. Do you really think I’m that stupid?” He made a pause and Jack just stared at the radio and waited for him to continue. “I know that you’re not planning on coming back, because Mother Goose would never let you do this. But thank you. Thank you for underestimating me. Because you just solved my little problem.” Fontaine’s voice was dripping with gratification. Jack could hear the other man walking and then he heard a slapping sound.

“Rise and shine, Kraut! C’mon say hello to your little experiment of a kid!” Jack’s heart almost jumped out of his chest. No! This had to be a bluff. Fontaine was bluffing! But a low but undeniable female voice crashed all of Jack’s remaining hope. It really was Tenenbaum. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The end is getting closer ...can you feel it ?? Hope you enjoyed it and see you next week. Love you all <3


	15. Endeavors

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone and welcome back to the next chapter! Please enjoy :-)

Fontaine was off the wall. When he had been talking to Jack over the radio, he hadn’t shown his own frustration about everything. However, it was a fact that not everything was going according to plan. First and foremost, he had been too sure about Jack staying with him that his sudden flight had actually taken him off guard. Even worse, Jack had freed Tenenbaum who he knew would pose a threat to his control over the kid. Well, unfortunately he had been right about this. The woman was not only good at what she did but also fast. He should have killed her when he had still had the chance.

Now it was too late to lament over things that should have been done or not. Now, he had to deal with the situation at hand and that meant he had to deal with Jack who was broken but also willing to fight him.

Fontaine looked up from his chair. He had sat down behind his desk. In one hand he held a bottle of whiskey. His eyes fell on the woman at the other end of the room, opposite his desk. It was Tenenbaum. She was chained to a chair. Her arms and legs tightly fixated with a thick rope. She wore a blindfold and to keep her silent Fontaine had gagged her as well.

He wasn’t completely sure if she was awake at the moment and he knew he needed to talk to her to get as much information about Jack and his situation as he could get. Thus, he put the bottle on the table and rose from his chair. Then he walked over to the chained woman and released her from her blindfold. Slowly Tenenbaum opened her eyes. At first glance she seemed to be confused but as soon as she laid eyes on Fontaine her expression darkened.

“You know, I don’t like this any more than you do, Kraut. But here we are.” Fontaine positioned himself in front of her. Tenenbaum tried to speak but was quickly reminded that the gag in her mouth wouldn’t let her.

“I’m sorry.” Fontaine said with so much sarcasm in his tone that it was hardly believable. Then he removed the gag from Tenenbaum and gave her a fake smile. Before the woman was able to speak, she had to cough from the fabric still remaining in her mouth.

“How about we chain you to a chair? Don’t you ever expect any pity from me you bastard.” It didn’t take the man a second to react. As soon as the woman had stopped talking, he hit her hard in the face.

“Oh no. I’m done with your sassy attitude, Kraut. You tell me what I need to know and then I’ll decide if I want to keep you alive or not!” In their previous conversations he had kind of enjoyed her little attitude. It was something he liked to see in women, but his patience was running short.

Two eyes filled with disgust and hatred met his as Tenenbaum turned her head to look at Fontaine. A tear was rolling down her cheek, from the impact of the man’s hand. One thing was totally clear. This woman had not lost her fighting spirit, yet.

“So here he is. You finally show your true face, Frank. I know what people said about you back then. They would have rather died than facing you if they had betrayed you. But I’m not afraid.” Tenenbaum’s voice was clear and firm.

“Oh, you should be afraid. I won’t fall for your little game. You think you are oh so clever, huh? I know what you care about the most and let me tell you this. After I’ve got Jack back under my control or even if I must kill him. You know who’s next?” He bent down so that their faces were closer together. “I will capture each and every last one of your precious little girls and then I’ll kill them right here in front of you and believe me I’ll make them suffer!”

Tenenbaum gulped, but she was still not giving in. “Threaten me all you want. That won’t change a thing. Jack will come. I told you before that he will eventually fight against you. He’s not your pet. He’s a human being.” Another blow hit her.

“Stop lecturing me! Jack’s mine and he will either die for me or serve me. He was created to obey me, and nothing will change that!” Fontaine slowly lost his temper. Why was this stupid woman still so confident about that little freak?

“Tell me where he’s hiding!” He tried to be calm. Tenenbaum smiled.

“Are you afraid of him, Frank?”

He wanted to hit her again but restrained himself. He needed to focus. The more he lost his temper the easier it was for her to have the upper hand in this conversation. He chose to ignore her question and asked another one.

“What have you done? Why are you so sure about his success?” He said slowly but threatening.

“I don’t see any problems with telling you that he will soon be cured from his condition. Luckily, this idiot Suchong had the first dose of Lot 192 hidden in his Clinic, did you know that?” Tenenbaum grinned triumphantly after she had revealed her trump card. “You should be afraid of him. You wanted him to be a killer and now he is coming for you!”

Fontaine let the words sink in. There it was. This was everything he needed to know. Suchong, that little piece of shit, had only given him half of what he had asked for. Maybe he had kept the other dose in order to use it against him one day. Unfortunately for Fontaine, this was basically the case right now.

After he had digested the first wave of anger overtaking his body, he couldn’t but start laughing. It was an ugly and unsettling noise which echoed through the room and when he eventually calmed down, he knew that Tenenbaum’s life was the most valuable thing he held in his hands right now and there was something else he had ignored.

“I know, you want me to think that I’ve no chance against Jack. But don’t forget there are two crucial details that might help me solve our little situation.” He encircled her chair and knelt down behind her. His mouth was so close to her ears that she could feel his breath on her skin.

“You have just been promoted to be the most valuable hostage in my possession. The kid wouldn’t risk that you might get hurt, would he?” He made another pause before he continued. “And I still got someone else on my side…”

Fontaine returned to his position in front of her. “Don’t forget that for Jack this is about so much more than freeing you or killing me. In the end, he is the one who fell in love with Atlas. And Atlas is more than ready to fight for him.”

*-----*

Jack was sweating all over. He tried to breathe but with every try it seemed that his chest was getting tighter and tighter. This was it. He would die. There was no way that his body would survive this. His heart hurt like it was about to collapse any minute and he could almost feel how his body was fighting with itself. 

_Please just let me live. Give me one more hour!_

Jack couldn’t die now. He had one last task to do. He couldn’t leave Tenenbaum behind. It was a fact that if Jack would die here and now, Tenenbaum was as good as dead too. The only problem was that his pain got so bad he could not even move anymore. Even if the severe pain in his chest would subside – hopefully it still would – he was more than certain that there was no way that he could walk back to Olympus Heights. That meant that he would need to contact Fontaine over the radio and tell him where he was hiding. It was a humiliating thought.

Had this been worth it? Since he had left everything had gone wrong. The more he thought about it the more he regretted his decision to leave. Why hadn’t he killed Fontaine when he’d had the chance?

_You would’ve never done it, Jack._

It was as if his own thoughts were mocking him. But Jack couldn’t deny the truth. Even though he had played with the idea, he knew that he really would have never done it. There was still something left inside of him that didn’t want to give up what he had shared with this man. It was wrong, it was morally reprehensible and still for a short amount of time it had made him happy. Sometimes ignorance was a bless.

More than once he had wanted to turn back time. To go back to how things had been before he had escaped – before he had seen Elisabeth. Why him? What higher power had decided that he had to be the one to save everyone – to defeat Frank Fontaine. It just wasn’t fair.

Who was he anyway? He was not even really human. He was a science experiment. He never had a childhood, a life. Everything he believed to remember was a lie. Every time he closed his eyes and thought about his parents and the farm, he felt at peace but then a cold shiver overpowered him, remembering him of the truth.

Most decisions in his short live had been made for him - mostly by Fontaine. He basically was the closest he had to a family. Be it a lie or not. The man was the one who had made him believe somebody cared about him. Why did he had to reveal himself? Why had Jack remembered it? Everything could have been so easy. Fontaine had been willing to play Atlas for him after he had found out about the amnesia. Didn’t that mean that he had been willing to play along for good? Jack could have been living a lie, but a good lie it would have been.

When the pain actually became less and less, Jack knew that this was his last chance to live. There was no way that he would survive another wave. His heart was weak and about to collapse. With a grunting sound he tried to move his body. Every single bone, every part of him hurt as hell and after a few seconds he gave up. It was too much.

The minutes passed by and Jack was just staring at the ceiling. He tried to even his breathing and start moving just his fingers. Next, he tried to move his arms. It hurt but he finally managed to force his legs to shift, only slightly. He remained in this position for some time before he continued his endeavor to at least get into a sitting position.

Jack turned his head to the right and looked at the wooden box next to him. On it was the shortwave radio. So close and yet so far for him. However, if he wanted to live and sacrifice his freedom for Tenenbaum, he needed to reach it.

With newfound strength he eventually managed to maneuver himself to sit. Every breath he took still hurt, but at least he was able to move again. Not much but enough to do what he had planned. His eyes suddenly looked down at his hands, or more precise on his wrists. It was weird. He knew about his tattoos, but he had never cared about their symbolism. Two chains. The symbols branded him for what he was: a slave. He had no free will. From the beginning of his life he had been in chains.

Jack bet it had been Fontaine’s idea to mark him as such. Just as his vision began to blur, he felt tears rolling down over his cheeks. With shaking hands, he reached for the device in front of him. With his right hand he took it while his left swiped away his tears. He wouldn’t grand Fontaine the satisfaction of hearing or seeing him cry – ever. Yes, he would succumb to this man, but at least it was his free will to do so. This thought gave him hope.

Jack was just about to activate the radio to be able to communicate when a little girl appeared in his vision. He had no idea where or when she had entered his small hiding place. But she looked at him with a weird smile on her face, a flask in one hand a little piece of paper in the other.

Jack couldn’t help but to stare at her for a while before he slowly put the radio back on the box. Was the girl even real? Like a ghost she stood there watching him almost as suspiciously as he watched her.

“You’re the one who saved me. Momma Tenenbaum wants me to bring you this.” She held the flask and the sheet of paper in front of her. Jack forced a smile. “Come here.” He managed to say.

The girl closed the distance between them. Jack slowly got the flask from her and placed it next to the radio. Next, he received the piece of paper. ‘Jack’ was written on it. He thanked the girl who was obviously very pleased with herself and then he opened the folded paper.

_Jack_

_I don’t know if I’ll make it back to you. I found the first dose of the antidote I told you about. It will cure you from your pain, but there will be side effects. I don’t know how bad they will be, but I will find the other dose if I can. If not, I hope this will help you to do what you must do._

_B.T_

Jack stared at the note, then at the flask with the antidote and back at the note. Almost in slow motion he grabbed the bottle with the weirdly yellow looking liquid inside. A small sign labeled it as Lot 192.

For a few seconds he inspected it. Then he removed the cork. Jack took one last breath. He had nothing to lose. In one go he swallowed everything and waited.

At first, he believed that nothing had happened at all but then a sudden burst of energy flooded his entire body. It was as if all the strength that had left him, was about to return to him all at once. It was not a pleasant feeling, but it was not as bad as what he had experienced before.

After the first shock, he slowly but surely felt his spirits being revived again. His breathing was normal again. The pain in his whole body didn’t vanish but was much better than before. Moreover, his senses seemed to work again. His mind was as clear as ice and with it returned his hope and willpower.

Jack stretched his whole body and for a second, he believed everything to be okay. However, suddenly he felt a light tingling sensation in his left hand. It became stronger until he could feel the electric energy from Electro Bolt, but it was out of control. Just when he thought his hand would uncontrollably electrocute something the feeling changed and suddenly it felt like his hand was on fire and shortly after the freezing sensation from Winter Blast dominated it. His plasmids were out of control. He couldn’t use them nor could he control the uncomfortable changing sensations in his hand.

In the end Jack knew that this was not ideal, also regarding the fact that he had practically only his shotgun with him as he had given his pistol to Tenenbaum. However, this was still far better than dying.

It would have been a lie to say that Jack’s will to fight and ultimately kill Fontaine had returned. It wasn’t that easy. But now, at least not everything was lost. He had a chance. There was a chance to do the right thing. Fontaine had no longer control over him. Somehow, they had ended on equal terms.

Jack was definitely physically stronger than him, but Fontaine had Tenenbaum as hostage.

As long as her life was on the line, Jack was unable to do something, and Fontaine knew that. And the man surely wouldn’t make the mistake and leave the woman out of his sight. No, he probably already knew that Jack had been cured from is condition. Fontaine knew how to make people talk. Jack remembered all too well.

He had no other choice than to go and provoke a confrontation. There was no way he could prolong it any longer. He took the radio from the box and activated it to speak. “Fontaine! Let’s settle this once and for all.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's it for today. I hope you liked it and are thrilled for their confrontation. Any guesses how it will go for Jack or Fontaine ? Like always happy to hear your thoughts and of course see you next week =D Thanks to everyone ;-)


	16. Argument

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Sunday! I hope you guys are alright and ready for the next chapter ;-) Please have fun!

The red liquid inside the syringe was taunting him. How could it have come so far that he was even thinking about this? He knew he didn’t have much time to make his decision, but since he had brought this little object near him, he hadn’t moved and inch from his chair.

Fontaine knew what this substance was responsible for. He had sworn to never take it himself as long as the product was still in its beta version. It was not like his body was sacred to him, otherwise it would not have been possible for him to undergo all these surgeries. Dr. Steinman, despite his lunatic endeavors, had been a tremendous surgeon. Doing these changes to his body and becoming Atlas had been something that he knew would pay off, however, taking Adam was something which could ruin his body and mind in the long run.

So why was he even thinking about it? There was one thing he was proud of. He was clever. He was thinking ahead of his plans. He almost never got outsmarted by other people and therefore he never underestimated his enemies. Fontaine would not make the mistake and underestimate Jack. That would be beyond stupid. It’s not like he was preparing for an actual fight. As far as Fontaine was concerned, he wanted to solve this little issue with words. Jack was physically stronger than him, that’s why he needed to at least equal his terms. However, mentally it was Fontaine who had the upper hand and there was nothing Jack could do to change that.

It was true that Jack bore him a grudge and he still didn’t know what had changed the kid’s mind from one day to the other. But Fontaine knew that there was still a way to manipulate Jack, all mind control aside. He just needed to play his cards right. That might also mean to make some concessions. If the result was that he could keep Jack as the valuable tool he was and didn’t need to fight against him, he would pay the price. Fontaine needed Jack to think that he had a saying in this when in truth he was pulling all the strings in the background.

Atlas was the best weapon he had against Jack. He needed to convince the kid that the man he loved was still there. Whatever had made him believe that Atlas was just as bad as Fontaine – which was true of course – had to be replaced by an image of the man Jack wanted to give his heart to. And if playing nice wouldn’t convince him he still had Mother Goose’s life as a backup plan and this little terrible syringe here.

He rolled up the sleeve on his left arm. With his right hand he grabbed the object from the table in front of him. Fontaine had seen so many people using these syringes to splice and had also seen the pain that came with it the first time.

He placed the needle on his left forearm’s skin. He hesitated for a moment, reconsidering all his options. The plasmid he was about in inject himself served the purpose to make him physically stronger, nothing else. No fire, no electricity, nothing that would turn him into a superhuman freak. Just a little bit of strength to be able to defend himself. That’s what he told himself.

At one go he pushed the needle deep inside his arm. He clenched his teeth and suppressed the painful groan emerging from deep down. He felt the thick canula under his skin. A numb throbbing spread out from the spot. Fontaine took a deep breath and positioned his thumb on top of the plunger. He applied some pressure and slowly injected the red liquid into his body.

At first nothing happened. Fontaine removed the needle from under his skin and put it away. Just as he placed the syringe back on the table he felt as if his whole body began to pulsate. Starting from where the Adam had entered his body he felt a surge of energy flooding his whole being. The first impression was that his body couldn’t take it and instinctively Fontaine grabbed the table with both hands to stop his whole body from spasming.

He clung so hard to the table that his knuckles turned white. His eyes were shut and for a few painful seconds it felt like his body was internally on fire. Then suddenly the burning changed into a steady pulse of energy, however, this time with every beat it felt better. He felt stronger. Suddenly he let go of the table and rose from his chair. Fontaine took a deep breath and filled his lunges with fresh oxygen. This was a feeling he had never experienced before. It was an ecstasy he had never experienced before. The feeling was more than intoxicating to say the least.

For a few minutes Fontaine let himself get drawn away on this wave of rapture, until the feeling gradually receded. His high after the injection had blurred his mind. Now, it was finally back again and additionally he had earned some physical strength to his abilities. He was ready for Jack.

*-----*

His shotgun in hand, he took one last breath. Jack had done everything to prepare for what was about to happen. He had eaten the rest of his food and had something to drink. After some exercising his body seemed to be almost back to normal. Well, not fully back to normal. His plasmids were still out of control, but he had somehow managed to ignore it. It was unpleasant and distracting, however, there was nothing he could do about it and lamenting about it would not help him either.

It was not like he would need his plasmids anyway. After his short conversation with Fontaine they had agreed to talk. There would be no need for weapons or plasmids, at least at first. Jack wasn’t so naïve to believe that there wasn’t a high probability that things might get out of hand. But he rather wished for a nonviolent solution.

At the moment, Jack wasn’t entirely sure how he wanted to approach the situation. Right now, he would most likely see what happened and try to act instinctively. However, he swore to himself that he would not let himself get played with. If Fontaine wanted a peaceful ending to this, he would need to make a compromise, and Jack knew that Fontaine wasn’t the type for that.

Jack was not willing to give up and he was also not willing to be the killing machine Fontaine wanted him to be. He was a human being with his own decisions. He had decided to save the little sisters and it was up to him if he wanted to kill this man or force him into another deal. This was a game. Jack had finally realized that. But until a certain point his part in it had only been a passive one. Now, things were different. He had started his own active role in this game.

Despite his previous thoughts, now, he didn’t regret his escape. The most important point was that he was finally free, well almost. But Fontaine wasn’t able to control him anymore, at least not with a genetic mind control. This was much better than being tight down by a deal he wasn’t able to break because of three little words.

Now, they were almost on equal terms and the fact that Fontaine was willing to talk to him, showed Jack that there was a chance that the other didn’t want him dead and that he maybe was willing to return to how things had been, but under different conditions.

 _Okay, I know that I’m naïve. But is it too much to ask for happiness? For this man to care for me at least a little bit?_ Jack thought and put on a sad smile.

He really needed to stop thinking and get going. There was no use in overthinking the whole situation. Now was the time to act. Jack shook his head as if it would help him to free his mind from all these distracting thoughts.

It made no difference anyway. The more he mused about how things could be, the more he got tangled up in ridiculous ideas. There was only one thing that mattered: Brigid Tenenbaum’s life. Jack had sworn to himself that he would rescue her. He owed her that much. She had freed him from his life as a mind-controlled experiment. She had not once given him the feeling that he was a freak, that he was not worth living and therefore he was thankful. Jack was willing to sacrifice his freedom for hers.

The way back to Olympus Heights wasn’t too long fortunately. He encountered only a few splicers on his way. Most of them, he was able to sneak by and a few made an acquaintance with his shotgun. As soon as he arrived at his desired destination, the followers of Atlas had been told to let him through. His goal was Fontaine’s penthouse. It was a short walk from where he had entered Olympus Heights. Jack wasn’t hasty. He wanted to regain his senses on this last short distance to where Frank Fontaine awaited him.

When he arrived at the elevator leading to the huge living arrangements, he realized that the code on the door had been changed - of course. If he had been Fontaine, he would have done the same, obviously. He took the short-wave radio from his belt and activated it.

“I’m here. Give me the new access code for the lift, would you kindly.” Jack couldn’t resist.

For a few seconds long nothing happened. Jack patiently waited in front of the secured door for an answer. He knew it was only a matter of seconds until Fontaine would contact him.

“1-9-5-6. You know why I chose this number?” The answer finally came and before Jack could react the other continued. “It was the year you were born.” That was it, nothing else. The connection was dead again. Jack wasn’t sure if he was able to make use of this statement and therefore tried to shove it aside. It was not important, was it? The only thing it did to him was confusion. Why did Fontaine say that? What did he intend? Jack just couldn’t make sense out of it.

Thus, he tried to ignore the weird statement and entered the lift after he had entered the correct code. However, a weird but not unpleasant feeling remained. Slowly, Jack was transported to the upper floors. After he left the small cabin of the lift, he crossed the rather big entrance hall that led to Fontaine’s apartment.

Jack had a lump in his throat. He had no idea what was about to happen, but the chances were high that everything would end in one massive disaster. Wistfully, he thought about the last time he had visited Fontaine here. How he had enjoyed his, or better Atlas’s presence after his latest journey through Rapture.

In front of the main door Jack halted. He looked up to the security camera to his left. He was one hundred percent sure that the other was monitoring him on his way through Olympus Heights. It only took a few seconds before his radio came back to life.

“Come in. I’m waiting for you in the living room.” Fontaine’s voice sounded almost neutral. There was no hate, no aggression. He seemed as calm as if he had invited Jack for some afternoon tea. He didn’t know if that was a good or a bad sign.

Jack clearly remembered where he needed to go to get to the living room. He took one last deep breath before he opened the door and one minute later, he was facing Frank Fontaine. The man was standing right next to Tenenbaum, who was chained to a chair. Her hands and feet had been strapped to the wooden furniture. Her eyes were blindfolded, and a dirty looking cloth had been used to gag her. A muffled sound from the woman proved Jack’s assumption wrong, that she might be unconscious. He was just about to say something when the other man interrupted him.

“Please don’t.” He said.

_Please!? What the hell?_

The statement confused him strongly, so that he actually forgot what he had wanted to say in the first place. Was this Fontaine or Atlas he was dealing with? Before he could muse about that any further, his thoughts were once again interrupted.

“I know what ya wanna’ say, but can you blame me for capturin’ that woman. It’s for me protection. If ya’ try anythin’ I’ll cannot promise for her safety anymore. Do you understand, boyo?”

 _Damn you for using that voice!_ Jack thought and hated himself for the fact that he probably had the exact effect Fontaine had intended. It distracted him and he wanted to hear more. He hated himself but he had sworn that he would face his weaknesses and accept them. Therefore, he tried to avoid the subject of Tenenbaum for now and focus on the two of them.

“You almost killed me. And now you want me to believe that you care about me?” He simply stated the most obvious. The fact that mainly stood between them. Fontaine came one step closer and put on a genuine smile. This was Atlas not Fontaine.

_Please stop!_

“I never really intended to kill ya’. I just knew that you would come back to me and therefore you wouldn’t die. I never thought that you would actually leave me, that you would abandon what we had. I’ve to admit I was shocked after your betrayal.” Fontaine said in his best Atlas impression. Jack gulped. Even after he had witnessed an evil version of this, now it was hard to think of it. 

“Betrayal?” Jack asked, his voice slightly higher than usual. “How? I never had a choice in this, hadn’t I? I just took what was supposed to be mine from the beginning: my free will. I know what you think of me. You think I’m a genetic freak!” Jack felt the heat in his body. Anger was rising from deep inside of him. Fontaine, however, stayed relatively calm compared to him.

“I won’t deny that I forced you into this. I’m responsible for everythin’ that happened to you. But doesn’t that also mean that I’m responsible for giving ya’ what you wanted? Not everythin’ that happened was bad, or was it?” With every word he came closer. “In the beginning I just wanted to use you as a tool. Becoming intimate with you was just a means to an end. But did it ever occur to you that our relationship _changed_ something in me.” He was almost with him.

A sound from behind Fontaine was about to gain his attention, but then the other grabbed his face with both of his hands. “Jack. Look at me!” Jack dropped his shotgun and obeyed. “I want you. Just as much as you want me. Don’t deny what we have.”

Jack’s emotions turned upside down. This was too much. This was obviously just another one of his lies. They were still playing a game. A game of lies. But was is it really a lie? It sounded so genuine, so honest. Could it be real? Jack so desperately wanted it to be real.

Another rumble from behind Fontaine was trying to get his attention. It had to be Tenenbaum. Suddenly his train of thought was clear again. He looked into Fontaine’s blue eyes and almost lost himself in them. Had his eyes always been blue or was this something he had changed in order to become Atlas? A muffled shout from the chained woman was necessary to get a clear mind.

“If you want this to work, you need to let her go.” Jack said determinedly. Another attempted call from Tenenbaum, signaled him that she was not agreeing with what he intended to do.

Fontaine smiled and moved his mouth closer to Jack’s ear. “It’s not that easy, kid. Do you really believe me to trust you again without any backup plan?” Frank Fontaine was back, but only until his voice went silent. The man looking at him was still Atlas.

“Well, in that case, I think we have to compromise. Let me earn your trust again and then you will let her go...for good. For now, you could at least free her from the blindfold and gag.”

Jack couldn’t believe how smooth everything went until now. He still stared at the other who seemed to think about his words. Jack could almost see how Fontaine pondered his options and luckily, he came to the conclusion that he should play along. This could only mean that Jack’s opinion did matter in this. It was a start.

Fontaine slowly let go of him and returned to Tenenbaums constrained body. First, he removed the blindfold which revealed a black eye. Anger rose is Jack, but he suppressed it. This was not the moment to destroy everything he had achieved so far. He knew what Fontaine was capable of and if a black eye was the only leftover from Tenenbaum’s last talk with this man, she could call herself lucky.

Tenenbaum’s eyes blinked a few times. Apparently, they had been in the dark for quite a while. The moment she set eyes on Jack, was the same the gag was removed from her mouth and it didn’t take her a second to use her voice again.

“You idiot. Don’t you believe a word he says! He will never let me go. He will always…” But she never finished that sentenced as Fontaine cut her short harshly. “Shut up. I didn’t allow you to speak!”

Jack tensed at Fontaine’s sudden change of emotion. This didn’t go unnoticed by the other and soon he was back with him, blocking his vision to Tenenbaum.

“Jack.” He started and already gained his attention by using his name. “I did what you wanted. I’m able to change, don’t ya’ see? Now, prove me your loyalty. Show me that you mean it!” He used the exact same words Jack had said when Fontaine had offered him his deal. The younger man gulped. Something within him was still reluctant. For just a second, he had seen the side of this man he hated. The side he would love to see dead. But then again, he had played along, and Jack would never lower himself to break his word.

And so, like Fontaine had done such a long time ago he grabbed the man with both hands and pressed their lips together. Fontaine didn’t hesitate for a second and pressed Jack’s body close against him and reciprocated the kiss forcefully but also passionately. If it had been just the two of them, Jack would have probably let himself go in the moment. But of course, they had a one-woman audience who was not willing to let this happen.

“So, this is what Frank Fontaine has become? A needy whore who wants to fuck the son of his biggest rival. Admit it you hypocrite! You made him into a perfect little puppet who first kills daddy for you and then becomes your private little toy. I wish everybody in Rapture had known this before. What a sight!”

Before Jack had even the time to feel insulted himself, which probably had not been Tenenbaum’s intention anyway, Fontaine instantly broke their interaction, turned around and pulled a gun from behind his back. He pointed it at the woman and shouted. “Agh! Shut up! One more fuckin’ word and I’ll put a bullet in that head of yours!”

Jack was petrified. He looked at the escalated scenario. It took him a few seconds to realize how quickly the mood of the situation had changed. It was almost surreal. After processing the first shock, he felt panic rising inside of him as his eyes fell on the gun in Fontaine’s hand. But before there was any time left to react, Tenenbaum preempted him.

“Oh, c’mon Frank! Do you even have any balls left to shoot me? You’re only a tamed tiger. Nothing more!” The look she gave him was so full of hate and aversion that Jack got a little scared of her. Fontaine on the other hand had lost some of his aggressiveness and was almost smiling now. It was as if Jack wasn’t even present anymore.

“If you so desperately want to die, Kraut, I’m more than happy to help you out!” He met her gaze and with a swift motion he released the safety catch of his pistol. In the exact same moment, when Jack heard the clicking sound of the weapon, he finally regained his senses and with them his voice.

“Stop it!” He exclaimed. Two faces turned around, looking at him with a mixture of surprise and anger. Jack decided to focus on Fontaine for now.

“If you harm her…” he hesitated. He really didn’t know how to finish this sentence. On the one hand, he would do everything to save Tenenbaum. He owed her so much and there was no chance that he would let Fontaine kill her in front of his eyes, without him losing his nerves. On the other hand, he was also angry at her. It was as if she had wanted the situation to escalate in the first place.

He knew that she was totally against Jack’s way of handling things right now. But was it not his own free will, as well, to decide how to handle this case? If he decided to side with Fontaine – which was definitely a stupid and naïve - despite everything he had done, wasn’t it his free will to do so? And wasn’t that what he wanted the most: a choice? Jack was in a bad fix.

Before he had the chance to finish his threat, Fontaine talked to him. “Jack, listen. This woman created you too. She is just as responsible as everybody else. Why did you forgive her but not me?!” He still sounded irritated, but there was also a touch of disappointment in it. For a few seconds he appeared like a perfect mixture of Atlas and Frank Fontaine.

“Because you’re a liar!” Tenenbaum instantly shouted, giving Jack no chance to let the statement sink in. Then she focused on him directly. “Jack. He’s lying. Don’t you believe a single word he says!”

Again, Jack had no time to answer as Fontaine reacted immediately.

“Shut up! I know what you’re trying to do…you can’t fool me, you stupid woman!” He burst out, almost spitting Tenenbaum in the face in the process. However, she was still not impressed, even though the weapon was still very close to her head.

“Obviously, you don’t,” she said and then continued, “otherwise you wouldn’t be shouting at me like this and threaten me with a gun you stupid moron! Jack don’t you see what I’m trying to prove? This man is only…”

In one swift motion Fontaine knocked her upside the head with his gun to silence her. Tenenbaum’s head swung backwards and remained in an unhealthy-looking position. Blood trailed down from a wound which now appeared on the right side of her forehead.

Electricity spread through Jack’s whole body as he tried to use his plasmids to stop him, but nothing happened and before he could do something else, Fontaine had turned around again. His expression had changed. No trace of Atlas was left in him and in his eyes, Jack saw pure aggression.

“Jack.” He began and took a deep breath. “Her life is in your hands now. My patience is running short, boy-o.” The way he pronounced his usual nickname for him was almost scary. “It’s really simple: Choose me or die with Tenenbaum!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaaand one last cliffhanger...I'm so sorry xD Thank you for reading and omg only one chapter to go and then it's already finished O.o thank you for sticking with me and my story and I hope you're all looking foward to the big finale! Always happy to hear from you and take care everyone =D I cannot promise an update next Sunday (life got in the way hard!) But I'm on it and it will be uploaded soon! Promise! I just want it to be as good as the rest of the story and don't want to upload something me and you won't like so please give me a few more days to work on it ^^


	17. Severance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! I'm really sorry for the delay =( But I just couldn't manage to finish it in time. I'm really sorry. But here we finally are: the last chapter. Please enjoy it and it was a pleasure sharing this story with you all =D 
> 
> TRIGGER WARNING: Character death!

The gun was still pointing at Tenenbaum. She wasn’t dead – not yet. The air around them was so tense, Jack had the feeling he could grab it. Despite Fontaine’s outburst against Tenenbaum, he somehow managed to suppress his anger. He knew it was useless to lower himself to Fontaine’s level. He was better than that. Jack knew that he still had a saying in this. He was stronger – stronger than this man. He was an active player in this game, and he would play it.

“You won’t shoot her.” He said calmly. Fontaine put on a wicked smile.

“Oh, and why do you think that?” He replied in a challenging tone. Jack reciprocated his smile, then he looked serious again.

“Because if you do,” he made a dramatic pause, “you’re next!” Jack did expect a lot of reactions but not this. Fontaine laughed. Loud and clear. It sounded scary. He arched his back and rode on his wave of amusement before he eventually focused on him again.

“Oh, this is delicious. Did you finally grow a spine, kid?”

“Drop the gun, Frank. Now!” Jack said determinedly. Fontaine was obviously not impressed by him.

“I won’t, kid. Do you really think I’m that stupid?” He made a pause and looked at Jack with a questioning look. Then he continued. “Seriously, I knew that this bitch got into your head, but this is just ridiculous. You really want to risk everything for this woman? I’m deeply disappointed, Jack.”

Now, it was Jack’s turn to laugh. “Disappointed? Do you really think I’ll believe another word you say? As Atlas you might be able to trick me, but not as yourself.”

Jack took a deep breath. His mind was clear as ice. Tenenbaum’s outbursts had definitely helped him to see through the façade of Atlas again. Fontaine had dug his own grave by treating her like he did. The other’s voice interrupted his train of thought.

“You’re pathetic, kid. Without her we wouldn’t have this conversation and you would be back at my side. I’m curious. Why do you hate _me_ so much, Jack? C’mon let me know, you little brat!” He spat the last words at him.

“You’re a bad person and I know what you’re capable of. I saw you torturing a woman.” Jack simply stated. Fontaine laughed once again.

“That’s it?? Are you fucking kidding me? We’re in Rapture! Everyone here’s a bad person!” Laughter. Jack waited patiently before Fontaine went on with his little speech.

“Jack.” He stated. “Be honest. Did you enjoy my company these last few weeks? I think we can agree that the time of lying is finally over.” 

Jack smiled. It was absurd but Fontaine suggesting being honest was something he had wished for a long time. Maybe things would have gone differently than they were going now if they had done this at an earlier stage. However, Jack already knew that now there was no turning back. For a few minutes he had been weak again, but that time was over. Fontaine had sealed his fate when he had given Jack his last and ultimate choice.

“I know what you’re trying to do or better what you want to prove.” Jack began slowly. He knew that despite his words the situation was far from his control, but at least he himself as a person was finally putting the last pieces together to become the man he wanted to be.

“I won’t lie to you. These last few weeks…with you… I enjoyed it. I thought that it was the best someone like me could ever hope for. I could be content even happy with what we had, but…” Jack took a deep breath, surprised that Fontaine hadn’t interrupted him yet.

“But that’s not important. It doesn’t matter how I feel. This is about who I want to be. And I don’t want to be with a man who is as twisted as you are. You can’t take this choice away from me. Not this time.” He took a step forward. “Let her go and we can go our separate ways without anyone getting hurt. You can stop playing your little game. Atlas can’t help you anymore.”

Finally, Fontaine reacted to him. Surprisingly enough, he had been listening to Jack’s little speech quietly and patiently. 

“Wow. So, this is it? Cannot believe you threw yourself at me only minutes ago.” He chuckled. “Brave words, kid. And you know what. You’re right. The game _is_ over. I don’t care. I gave you everything you asked for. I gave your life a purpose and how to you repay me?! You think you can just walk out here, and I let you go just like this!?” With every word he spoke his voice became louder and more aggressive. Jack’s body tensed, trying to be ready for everything that was about to happen.

“You unthankful brat! I had you built! I sent you topside! I called you back, showed you what you were and what you were capable of. Even the life you thought you had? That was something I dreamed up and had tattooed inside your head! You want me to be the bad guy here. Fine! Then live with the consequences.”

Jack almost hypnotized from every word Fontaine threw at him, didn’t even had the chance to realize what happened as he heard the deafening sound of the gun being fired. Like in slow motion he saw the bullet drilling its way into the Tenenbaum’s skull, taking away every bit of life left within this very moment.

His eyes switched between the lifeless body of his only friend and the man who had caused it all. Fontaine’s expression was a mixture of amusement and craziness and Jack just wanted one thing: to beat the shit out of that smug bastard’s face. Every bit of compassion he had felt for this man had left his body. He could feel the tingling sensation from his blocked plasmids. Jack knew he didn’t need them to win this fight.

His reaction was instant and fast. With one jump he was with Fontaine and carried him off his feet. They crashed on the hard floor and Jack grabbed for the other’s hand and smashed it brutally against the firm ground. Fontaine let go of the gun and in the heat of the moment the weapon slid away from them.

Jack straddled the man and captured him on the ground. “You’re going to die for this!” He growled with a voice he didn’t know he had in him. To Jack’s surprise, Fontaine was still grinning. With a slightly hoarse voice he replied: “I want you to try, kid.” And then with a strength stronger than a human being, Jack felt his body being lifted into the air. Before he knew what was happening, he found himself back in a standing position and a fist was quickly making an acquaintance with his face.

He stumbled a few steps backwards but luckily didn’t lose his balance. Blood was dripping from his lips. He swiped it away and looked at his opponent. There was no doubt that Fontaine had finally spliced his body.

“What you’re waiting for, kid. Come and get me!” Fontaine mocked him. Jack needed no second invitation. He lunged forward, dodged Fontaine’s first strike and paid him back for the bloody lip. As Jack’s fist met his face, he felt a wave of intoxicating adrenaline rushing through his veins. It felt so good to do that. All the hate which he had hidden deep inside of him was finally free.

Before the older man had any chance to regain his senses and react Jack grabbed him and shoved him brutally against the nearest wall. A loud grunt was heard when Fontaine’s back crashed against the bookshelf which was the only object between him and the wall now.

Dozens of books rained down on them due the convulsion the two bodies had caused. The scene froze for a second and as Jack was going to take another swing at his enemy his fist was stopped midway. With enormous strength his whole arm was pushed back, and the insane laughter of Fontaine rang in his ears. Then he let go and two hands grabbed his shoulders and their positions were reversed.

Now it was Jack who was being pressed against the bookshelf and his first attempt to break free failed miserably. The strength which was used again him was far from human.

“Don't know what I was thinkin'. Never spliced up once the whole time I was down here in this aquarium. Figured it was bad to mix business with pleasure, but whooo! Forget all the nose-candy and floor polish I been wastin' time with! This stuff is the mother's milk!”

Jack didn’t waste any energy by answering this sick bastard. His thoughts raced through his head. He had to admit that he was surprised by Fontaine’s newfound strength. But he was not the first splicer he fought. He would not lose!

With all he had in him he smashed his head against Fontaine’s. It hurt like hell, but it served its purpose. The other loosened his grip and Jack was able to break away. He ran to get some distance to the other. He needed to get some space to come up without another plan. But his try was in vain. Jack had no idea how this was even possible but only a few seconds, his back was still turned to Fontaine, he felt something hit the back of his head.

Green shards - probably from a bottle – were pouring down in front of his eyes. His reflexes spurred to action and he fell down on his knees and raised his hands to shield his head from another hit.

_He is right behind you! Move Jack! Now!_

His inner voice screamed but Jack was like petrified. The moment his body and brain regained their connection it was already too late. Fontaine was at him and kicked him in the back. Jack’s face met the filthy floor. A long and nasty wooden splinter bored into his cheek. The pain numbed everything else and so he did nothing to prevent Fontaine from rolling him over on his back.

The moment he looked into the other’s eyes he faced another blow. The pain was getting stronger and his vision was already blurred.

“Well I guess it’s really over now, kid!”

Two strong hands clutched his throat tightly. The moment the air was cut off from him, he was about to give up. Why even bother now? What was the point of fighting back again? It was as if Fontaine was reading his mind as he said out loud what Jack was thinking.

“That’s right. Don’t fight it. Where you gonna go anyway? Your life? Your family? They're a fairy tale, kid. No more real than something you read about in the Saturday Evening Post. Poor bastard. A motherless freak whipped up in a half-baked science experiment. But I’ll free you from the pain.”

The evil laughter echoed through the room and for a second Jack thought that this was the last he would ever hear. But Fontaine was not finished yet. “Say hi to Tenenbaum in hell. And don’t worry. You won’t be lonely there. I’ll send you her little freak children right after!”

That was it! Jack’s sense came back to him. There was still something he could do! And now that Tenenbaum was dead he was the only one who could help those poor children. It had been his first free decision to rescue the little sisters. He had a mission and he couldn’t fail it. Not now. He had made a promise to himself to be a better man. He couldn’t give up. Not now!

With the last of strength left in him he grabbed Fontaine’s arms with his hands and managed to loosen the grip on his throat. The sudden flow of air back into his brain changed the game once again. With his recovered purpose he had all he needed. He managed to get Fontaine off his body and make them switch positions. A new wave of energy flooded his whole body. In this moment he felt like the most powerful entity in the world. It was intoxicating!

Now, it was Jack who sat on top and he didn’t waste any second. He let his fists rain down on the other man, so he didn’t even have the chance to fight back. It was brutal. Blood was splashing all around him and colored his face and clothes red. Like a wild animal he screamed whenever his fists met Fontaine’s face.

Only when Jack couldn’t sense any more resistance from the other, he stopped and looked at what he had done. Fontaine’s face was almost unrecognizable. He seemed to have struggles breathing. Blood was all over his now swollen face.

“How about a stupid comment now!” Jack spat at him.

Fontaine tried to chuckle but stopped as he only choked blood as he did so. Instead he spoke once again, but it was not mocking in any way.

“I remember when me and the Kraut put you in that sub.” He coughed and Jack stared at him, mesmerized by his last words. “You were no more than two. You were my ace in the hole, but you were also the closest thing I ever had to family.” He made another pause. Jack could clearly see that speaking was almost not possible anymore. “And that's why this hurts. Betrayal, kid. Life ain't strictly business. C’mon get it over with. I know when I’ve lost! Kill me, would you kindly.”

And so, Jack obeyed Fontaine one last time.

*-----*

Escaping Rapture came close to a miracle and until today it still seemed like a dream to him that he could have left this hellhole behind. He had saved more little sisters than he had hoped for, but still he had also left more behind than he wished he had. All things considered, Jack couldn’t believe how well everything had turned out for him, despite the circumstances how he had gotten into this world.

He lived somewhere in the middle of nowhere on a big and beautiful farm. It was the quaintest place in the world. He knew that this was due to the fact that in his mind he still believed that this was somehow a place he had already called his home before – because it was a home he could remember even though this memory was a lie. But it didn’t matter to him anymore. It made him feel comfortable and that was all that mattered. Being here filled him with endless joy and luck. Sometimes he thought that he didn’t deserve it.

Having the little girls around was a blessing. They had developed so quickly and adapted to this new life so beautifully that whenever he was about to fall back into this deep pit of sorrow, they always managed to bring him back to the light. After he had lost Brigid Tenenbaum - a fact that would probably haunt him forever – the little girls had been the very reason why he had eventually managed to overcome his last moment of weakness and stop Fontaine for good, and they had proven that to him every day that saving them had been the right choice.

And still, not one day passed without him thinking about Fontaine – the man he had loved and despised. On good days he remembered their time together as Atlas and Jack and with enough time Jack had learned to look back at these days and be happy to have experienced some kind of affection no matter how fake it might have been. He had felt happy and desired in these moments and he would never forget that feeling.

However, his nightmares were the worst for him. More than once he saw Atlas torturing Elizabeth and he sometimes even imagined the same happening to him or to one of his little girls. And then he also saw himself beating the crap out of Fontaine – a man lying on the ground not fighting him in the slightest – feeling like a monster. Jack hated seeing himself like this. Seeing himself as the killer Fontaine wanted him to be.

Maybe one day he would be able to overcome all these fears inside of him. Maybe he would be able to accept this part of him and welcome it. At least, he knew that everything he had done in Rapture had made him into the man he was today – even his deal with Fontaine. Everything belonged to him – every decision. He had gained his own experiences. Good ones and bad ones and he had learned from his mistakes.

His life was not perfect. Jack knew that he still had a long road ahead of him until he would accept himself completely. However, every person he had met in Rapture, be it Brigid Tenenbaum or Frank Fontaine had shaped him into the man he was today. And it was a fact that he liked himself now much more than he used to do back in Rapture. Therefore, he was grateful for his past and as long as he wouldn’t succumb to his nightmares it was Jack alone who could forge his own destiny.

The End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A big thank you to all my lovely readers! It was a pleasure to read your comments, get your feedback and hear your thoughts about this story. I spent almost one year with this piece of work and it will be hard for me to finally let it go! So for one last time if you want to share your thoughts with me be welcome to leave a comment =D I always love to talk to you guys! You're the best! <3


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